I Dream of Toni
by Scarlett Elizabeth Cooper
Summary: Antonia Nelson, a New York City paralegal and Tony and Jeannie Nelson's granddaughter, must keep her secrets close to her, until her coworker uncorks her bottle and they are forced to uncover corruption with in their firm.
1. Keeping Secrets

**I Dream of Toni  
**By Scarlett Elizabeth Cooper  
Rated: PG (K+)

_Summary:_ Antonia Nelson, a New York City paralegal and Tony and Jeannie Nelson's granddaughter, must keep her secrets close to her, until her co-worker uncorks her bottle and they are forced to uncover corruption with in their firm.

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own the characters of IDoJ or the character Johnson, they belong to their respective creators. This story is written purely for entertainment and not for profitable purposes. I do, however, own all original characters and the plot. If you would like to use the characters I have created, please ask first.

_Archival:_ Here, Livejournal (username: maurreyaugust). and elsewhere with my written permission. Just ask:)

_Author's Note:_ I Dream of Toni has been revised and rewritten from it's original version. It is longer now , but nothing in the plot has significantly changed. I hope that the revisions make it better and more interesting! - Scarlett

_Timeline:_ Since this story is about Tony and Jeannie's grandchildren, it would have to take place no earlier than 2012 (using the date of the episode "The Wedding" (1969) and having Toni's father born in 1970). In order to give some room, though I'd say it was set in 2015. I'm giving this information mostly as an FYI in case someone wonders how it could all fit together :).

_Character list:_ Visit the IDoJ page in the Fanfiction Archives on my website for a list of all original characters in this story.

_Chapter 1  
__Keeping Secrets_

The bustling streets of New York City were as noisy as ever, even in the late morning sunshine that was partially blocked by skyscrapers that rose out of the concrete. It occurred to Antonia Jeannie Nelson that there was hardly a patch of bare ground from here to Central Park. She shuffled the papers on her sickly green, metal desk and sneezed. Dust particles danced in the slanted ray of sun that stretched across the room, casting a shadow on the tight curls of grey and purple fabric that made up the carpet.

The door to her office swung open with a sudden burst of irritated energy and she glanced up to find the blonde head of one of her bosses poking through the door. "I want you to sit in on this consultation," Leif Yahn told her. Toni nodded and stifled a yawn as she set down the sheet of paper in her hand. It seemed that her duties at Placid, Goldwyn, Charles, Baker, Thomas, Riley and Yahn had been greatly exaggerated in the ad she had answered nearly a month ago. Her job did not fully utilize her professional skills as a paralegal.

As she slipped her feet into her high heels, she knew that the only reason she was being summoned to this consultation was so that she would be familiar with the back ground of the case and thus be better equipped to fulfill the research required to adequately present the case in court. She'd already done this many times before.

At first she'd had high hopes that she would be able to actually work on preparing and presenting the cases that the various partners were working on, but it always ended up in the menial tasks. She would work first with one partner, then another, never really spending enough time with just one of them to fully get to know his way of working. In a way that was a good thing; it made it easier for keep her…well, secret. She did not have the constant worry that she would be found out. She usually tried to ignore her fears of what would happen if one day, someone in the office knew what she was.

Shaking her head to clear it of her current thoughts she pushed open the door to Leif's office, nodding to Darlene Everly, his secretary, as she passed her desk. In the office, seated in two straight back, burgundy leather chairs sat the two clients. One was an older woman, possibly in her fifties, her silver hair had only the faintest hint that it was ever brown and was pulled back in a braid that hung down her back. She sat perched on the edge of the seat, a box handbag resting on her knees and her fingers were fiddling with the handles as her eyes darted from Toni, to Leif to the young man opposite her. A kind of worried affection glowed in her dark eyes when she looked at the man. Toni guessed him to be in his early 20s or late teens. His hair was dark – she guessed it was probably the same color as the woman's had once been – and his light blue eyes shown with outraged anger and fear.

"Mrs. Capp," Leif had stood up from his black leather, swivel computer chair and motioned for Toni to take the stool next to him. Before she did he introduced her to the woman. "And this is Mrs. Lilaine Capp and her son James."

"Nice to meet you ma'am," Toni nodded, her dark brown hair was pulled back from her face and secured in a pony tail, but during the day strands of hair had escaped and were now framing her face with slight curls.

After the introductions and they'd sat down in their seats, Leif turned to Mrs. Capp, "Now I understand your son is accused of assault and robbery," Leif began. "Would you give us some details into this young man?"

Taking up her notepad, Toni began to jot down notes as the young man began to speak. Like his mother, he was perched on the edge of the seat, his eyes darting nervously from Leif to Toni and the door as if he intended to make an escape. "I didn't assault and rob nobody Mister!" a hint of that anger Toni had seen in his eyes laced his tone.

"In the report I read you've been picked up for vandalism charges in the last six months. What kind of people do you hang out with James?" Leif probed. The man's eyes flashed with indignation.

"Yeah, I was picked up for vandalism, and I _did_ do that, but I didn't rob nobody or beat 'im up!" he slammed a fist on the desk. "I don't hang out wid them boys no more though."

"Do you know if it's one of your friends that robbed that store?"

"They ain't my friends, but I don't know. Maybe they did. Leon might have; he's the one that decided we should do that vandalism."

"I see," Leif's attention was turned to his computer as it dinged to tell him that a message had been sent. She couldn't read all the words that were written in the message, but Toni got the gist of what was said, especially when Leif turned his attention back to the two clients, a fake smile pasted on his face. "Well, that's all we're going over today. I want to review it further, then I'll get back to you."

"Thank you sir," Mrs. Capp nodded as she quickly gathered up her purse and her son lead the way out of the office. Once they were gone Toni stood with her hands on her hips. She was boiling angry. She knew what that message had said.

"What'd you do that for?" she demanded, her eyes a steely blue. Leif looked at her a little surprised.

"I have to. It's policy. They don't have enough assets to pay the fees."

"Oh? So it doesn't matter that the man is innocent?"

"Of course it matters, but they'd have to pay up front and I don't think Mrs. Capp or her son would be able to do that," Leif's dark eyes had snapped while he was speaking. "Why am I explaining this to you? It's none of your business to question my decisions. I can make the call, and her funds don't come anywhere close to paying for an hour of services! They can get a state appointed attorney."

"Fat lot of good that'll do them," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest and turning her back on Leif.

During his speech, Leif had been standing up, both fists planted firmly on his mahogany desk. Now he bent to sit back down, and Toni gave a tiny, discrete blink of her eyes and the chair moved back an inch. "Ahhh!" Leif shouted as he desperately reached for something to hold onto, but instead managed to bring down a stack of papers that puffed out in several directions. Toni licked her lips to stifle the urge to laugh.

"Serves you right," she walked to the door.

"Get out of here," Leif growled. "And by the way…you can tell them."

"What?" she whirled around, her face red with indignation.

"You can tell Mrs. Capp that I'm not taking the case."

"Why you little coward!" her voice had risen slightly as she now stomped towards his desk. "You make the decision, but I'm the one that's gotta tell them you're not going to take the case?"

Anger boiled with in her as the urge to start blinking at random nearly strangled her. He had picked up a pencil and began scribbling notes in the Capp file. With a blink of satisfaction the pencil broke in two. Leif muttered as he threw it down and picked up another. "This just isn't my day."

"I would say not," Toni replied sweetly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Get out of here!" Leif growled again, but she simply ignored him.

"If they could pay up front then could you take the case?"

"I suppose," he shrugged, his mood not changing. "Now get out of here before I throw you out."

Before Toni had made it to the door way she collided with Darlene. "Oh," she exclaimed. "Placid's called a meeting. He said he wanted you there too."

"Me?" Toni asked surprised. Then she remembered that she'd been assigned to help out with the Johnson case. Hand picked no less by the founder of the firm, Drake Placid and his right hand man, Ace Goldwyn.

As she entered the conference room Toni deliberately ignored Leif and took a seat next to Martin Charles. She'd only worked with him briefly on a minor case that got settled out of court, but she'd rather liked the middle aged gentleman. The best description of him she could come up with was that he was robust. He grinned at her when she sat down.

"So, you're name's Toni Nelson?" he began. "Any relation to the astronaut Tony Nelson?"

"Actually, yes," she grinned up at him. "He's my grandfather."

"Your grandfather?" Charles seemed surprised and excited. "That's fantastic! Back in the '60s he was my idol! What's he doing these days?"

"Enjoying retirement," she smiled back, glancing as Placid adjusted the projector of his PowerPoint presentation.

"I can remember a time when he went into space, but had to abort his mission because of some problem and he landed on some island," Mr. Charles continued. "You don't think I could get an autograph do you?"

"I'll see what I can do for you," she felt warm. It was nice to meet someone who still remembered her grandfather. Now days an astronaut didn't seem to be as well loved as they were forty years ago.

The preliminaries they went over for the case did not take very long and afterwards Toni decided to go get a cup of coffee from the break room. Leif was already there at a drink machine. "I hate it when it does that," he muttered and beat on the side of the machine.

"Ate your change, huh?" Toni asked smugly.

"Yeah," he paused and leaned against it, looking at her. "So your grandfather was really an astronaut?"

"Sure was," she nodded proudly. "I've always been rather pleased with that fact. My cousin always bragged about it at school and became the most popular girl there," she laughed at a memory that popped into her head. It was always so easy for Glenda to make friends she on the other hand, had withdrawn, especially after her mother had deserted her and her father. It was easy to tell people about her grandfather too, but it was never, _ever_, appropriate to mention her grandmother. No one would ever understand.

Leif had resumed his tirade with the drink machine as Toni took a sip of her hot and bitter brew, burning her tongue. As she strode across the room to leave she glanced at Leif and the machine. A devious grin twitched at her lips. With one discrete blink the jingle of change plunked into the return. She felt amused as Leif picked it up with satisfaction. She blinked a second time as she stepped out of the room and a torrent of change poured out of the machine. "What the…!" she could hear Leif saying as she headed for her office.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Toni went over a couple of files, typed up some letters, and went over the Johnson case file. It was being passed around from each of the attorneys working on it. She liked to always make a copy of files that she worked on for her own references. She blinked the copy home and closed her folder.

She was not looking forward to her last duty of the day. She could just as easily call Mrs. Capp, but she decided that she would not be a coward, even if Leif Yahn was. She would face the woman and tell her straight out that the firm didn't have enough kindness in it to help her out.

Boiling over the thoughts she found the address and rang the door bell. The woman looked at her sullenly and invited her into the house. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," she was sympathetic and knew that the woman already suspected that this was the case. Mrs. Capp looked stricken.

"Mr. Yahn doesn't believe my boy is innocent?" she demanded.

"No," Toni shook her head. "I don't believe that is it." Mrs. Capp's bowed head slowly rose to meet Toni's gaze. Understanding bloomed in her eyes.

"I don't have enough money he thinks?" she rose to her feet, anger flashing across her face. "That is what he thinks does he not?"

"I'm afraid so. It's the policy of the firm," she hesitated. "If you had the cash to pay up front he'd take the case."

"Cash up front?" she sighed. "I only have a meager share," she shook her head.

"Do you?" Toni felt excitement twitch inside of her. This was exactly what she had wanted to hear. "Where do you keep this stash?"

"Where? In my cookie jar of course!" the woman responded with a sense of renewed strength. "But I'll go into debt if I have to!"

"Go get your money, Mrs. Capp," Toni waved the woman on. "Let us count it and see if there is enough."

The woman bustled into the kitchen…but while she was gone Toni blinked. Mrs. Capp and her son would have that lawyer fee in the morning. And Mr. Leif Yahn would have no excuses for not taking the case.

(To be continued…)


	2. Friends and Dates

_Chapter 2  
__Friends and Dates_

The next morning, Toni was in her office at the usual time, early. She'd already accomplished half her tasks for the morning by the time Leif Yahn sauntered through her office door and took a seat, uninvited. She deliberately ignored him.

"All right," he said finally. "How did you do it?"

She stopped and looked at him as if she had no idea what in the world he was talking about. "Did what?" she turned her attention back to her typing.

"How did you give Mrs. Capp money without her knowing it?"

"Why would I give Mrs. Capp money?"

"So she could afford the lawyer fees."

"Can she afford her lawyer fees now?"

"Of course! You know that she does!" his tone was of irritation.

"That's wonderful. I'm glad. She was a sweet lady."

Leif stared at her in unbelief. "You had to of given her the money!" he demanded. "I know you had to!"

"How do you know she just didn't work to raise the funds? Maybe she has some friends who didn't think it was fair?" Toni had swiveled her chair to face him and was now leaning forward on her desk. "Have you thought of that?"

He glared at her, and she stared right back. Leif began to feel uncomfortable. Her blue eyes were icy and made him wish he had not confronted her. He had no way of saying that she was behind this, no proof. Mrs. Capp had said it was money she'd saved up and as far as he could tell there was no way to prove otherwise.

Throwing his hands up in the air he stood up and fled the room, thankful to be away from her eyes. She had a way about her that was almost mesmerizing at times. But it seemed that anything unexpected could be expected when she was around. It unnerved him.

"Something wrong?" Martin Charles asked as he passed him in the corridor.

"No, nothing," Leif said quickly, pasting a smile on his face. His expression must have been reflecting his present thoughts. He shook his head and shivered. That's what being so close to Toni Nelson did to one, he reflected.

After nodding to Darlene who was busy typing at her computer he swung open the door to his office and entered with a sigh. He stopped short when he realized the room was occupied. "KD," he managed a smile.

"You look like you've just been tackled," Keith Dalton Lance joked. He was a tall young man, slightly taller than Leif with a jovial personality that was hard not to like. They'd been friends ever since high school and even when KD had dropped out of college they'd still remained close buddies.

Leif had often pondered over their friendship. They were not alike. In fact, they were almost opposites. KD was always happy, cheerful and almost irresponsible. He had held down his latest job the longest: almost a year. The longest before that was four months. But some of this had changed when he met his girlfriend. They seemed to be perfect for each other. She seemed to have given KD an anchor to hold on to, and Leif wouldn't be surprised when KD waltzed into his office with a big announcement.

"Actually," he forced his mind back to the present. "I've got this co-worker who's…well, it seems like strange things happen around her. I mean yesterday the drink machine ate my change…"

"Doesn't it always?" KD rolled his eyes.

"That's my point. I've never received a refund back from it but yesterday not only did I get my money back, but I got all the change in the machine!"

"Must have been your lucky day," KD shrugged as if he didn't really understand what Toni had to do with this. Leif continued and related the incident with Mrs. Capp. Again he shrugged. "Maybe she has friends that believe in her son and they helped get the money together?"

"That's exactly what Toni said."

"I think you're just making a bigger deal about this than you ought to," he shrugged again. Leif looked at him and sighed.

"I guess you're right," he ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair. "I'm just edgy."

"Maybe you should go on a vacation?" KD suggested. "By the by," he pulled out a set of four tickets from his pocket. "I have the reservations _and_ the tickets. Have you got your date?"

Leif stared at him blankly. "Tickets?" suddenly he felt his face grow warmer. "I forgot all about it!" he slapped his head with his hand.

"Don't tell me you didn't ask Elaine out?" KD's voice had risen to a high pitch. "We're counting on you to join us and I bought four tickets. It is your money, but still, do you realize how hard it is to get these?" he waved them in front of him.

"As a matter of fact…" Leif picked up his phone and began dialing. "I'll ask Elaine right now." KD sighed.

"Okay, but this is awfully short notice."

"I suppose you have your date already to go?" Leif almost snarled.

KD looked at him seriously. "_Of_ course! Glenda's been waiting for this day for weeks."

With that his friend left and the phone continued to ring in Leif's ear. He began rummaging through his files piled on his desk. Surely he'd picked up the Johnson file from Placid. He distinctly remembered seeing it on his desk.

"Hello?" a sultry voice answered the other end of the line.

"Elaine? Hi, it's me," there was a pause. "Leif?" He was sorry he refreshed her memory as she began to yell at the top of her lungs. Leif buzzed his secretary.

"You couldn't have called me _before_ now?" Elaine demanded. "I mean, what's it been? Two weeks? And you wait until _now_ to call me? What do you think I am? Your laundry to be tossed aside when you don't need me any more?" He marveled at the woman's set of lungs. She'd been shouting through the entire tirade.

"Yes?" Darlene asked as he put his hand over the receiver.

"Have you seen the Johnson case file?"

Darlene rolled her eyes in thought. "I believe the last time I saw it was on your desk," she responded squinting her eyes in thought.

"Well it's not here now," he sighed, throwing a file across his desk in frustration. "Try looking out front in the file cabinets for me, would you?" Darlene turned to leave, but glanced over her shoulder as the woman at the other end of his line continued to yell at the top of her lungs.

"Elaine?" he tried to make his voice sound sweet. "Would you just hold on a moment and listen?"

But listen she would not.

His door opened and he hoped it was Darlene with the file. His hopes were dashed when he saw that it was Toni instead. She had a pile of papers stacked in her arms. "Oh, not you!" he grunted, muttering, but Toni heard. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the woman was _still_ yelling.

"What are you looking for?" Toni asked with genuine concern while she took in the disheveled state of his office.

"The Johnson file." Toni's face scrunched up in thought. She'd seen that file somewhere before. She'd handed it back to Mr. Placid after her review of it, but that wasn't the last place she'd seen it. Why did Ace Goldwyn have it again? The thought passed through her mind, but she quickly blinked the file on top of her papers.

"Here it is," she handed it to him. Exasperation colored his face as he deliberately slammed down the receiver. If that was the way Elaine was going to be about things, he'd find someone else to go to the concert with him.

"What were you doing with it still?" he demanded, rising from his seat and staring at her threateningly.

"_I_ didn't have it," she pursed her lips and looked at him doggedly. "Mr. Goldwyn had it, _sir_." Leif felt the urge to take a step back.

"Oh," the steam escaped from him. "Well," he took it from her and she retreated out of the office.

That evening she was more than happy to be heading to her apartment. She got home earlier than usual. It was such a wonderful thing, even if it was a small studio apartment. Before she had unlocked the door she could hear humming.

"I'm home!" she announced to find Muriel Adams, her housekeeper, sweeping up the kitchen area.

"Afternoon, Miss Nelson," she nodded, her petit rounded body bobbing with her efforts. "You're home early." Toni nodded as she tossed her purse and coat on a chair. She didn't really need a housekeeper. Most genies didn't, but even so her aunt Caroline Gilford had suggested she hire one. "It'll look less suspicious," she'd said. "But then I'll have to worry about not using my powers when she's there," Toni had protested. "Then have her work when you're at the office," Aunt Carrie had suggested.

So far the arrangement had worked quite well, with the exception of days like today when Toni ended up going home early. It wasn't that big of an inconvenience and Toni didn't have to user her powers for the extra work.

"Something wrong?" Muriel asked.

"Nothing," Toni shook her head and glanced around.

"You're cousin popped in twice since I been here today."

"Popped?" Toni tried to hide the high pitch that inadvertently attacked her vocals.

"Yeah, she came by here looking for you," Muriel continued to push the broom across the floor. "I guess she wanted to talk to you about something." She shrugged, Toni let out a slow sigh of relief. Sometimes her cousin was purely reckless. She could pop in at the most inopportune moments…like while she was consulting with a potential client with Martin Charles – at least neither of them had seen her – or getting a cup of coffee in the break room. One of those days, Glenda was going to get her in serious trouble.

She picked up her blue Motorola Razr and dialed Glenda's number. "Hey, did you come by earlier?" she asked when her cousin had answered.

"Sure did, are you there now?"

"Don't come by you're usual way," Toni hurried to caution. "But yes, I'm home."

"Good!" she wondered if Glenda had heard her admonition, but not more that ten seconds later her door bell rang.

"Must have been on her way up," Toni faked a smile to Muriel and went to the door.

"I'm done now," Muriel responded as Toni opened the door up to reveal a young woman about her same height with flaxen blonde hair and a ready smile on her rosy red lips. "Anything else you need before I leave?" Muriel continued, ignoring their intruder.

Glenda's wide blue eyes looked from Muriel to Toni who answered, "No, that's all. You do a really good job," she smiled as the woman inclined her head in acknowledgement of the complement. She had been donning her coat and picked up her purse as she headed for the door.

"I'll see you Thursday then," she bobbed her head as she closed the door. Glenda had watched the woman as she left the room, now she turned her full attention to her cousin.

"How goes it?" Glenda asked smacking on a piece of gum

"Fine?" Toni replied tentatively, eyeing her cousin with suspicion.

"What?" Glenda's eyes bugged out and her tone was exasperated.

"Well, you're mighty bouncy coming in here, all cheerful and chipper, it makes me think that you're up to something, or you want something," Toni responded with her arms folded across her chest.

"Oh! Come off it, just because I did few times ask a favor of you or do something devious doesn't mean I'm _always_ going to be coming in here and doing something like that!" Glenda's tone was offended. "Besides all I wanted from you…"

"I knew it!" Toni waggled her finger under Glenda's nose.

"Hey! Hear me out. All I wanted was to see if you'd like to double tonight? We're going to go bowling and then have dinner at Pizza Hut."

"Me?" Toni was incredulous. She blinked in two cups of coffee and the coffee pot, and proceeded to pour. "Give me one good reason why I should go out, Glenda?"

"It'd be fun," she grinned.

Toni sighed adding sugar and cream with another blink. "You know I don't go out. You know I don't plan on ever getting married, so what's the point?"

"Do you realize, cousin mine, that you're always cooped up here with no friends, and that you have no life?"

Toni's hazel eyes met Glenda's with consternation. "I have a life, Glenda, I go to work and I do good for people with what I do. How can that not be a life?"

"I mean you have no life beyond that Toni. You should loosen up a bit. One day you might have a master, and how will you know what to do then?" Toni stared at Glenda and sighed.

"I don't expect you to understand my feelings Glenda, and I've told you many times that I don't intend on _ever_ having a master. So, I'm all good. How about you?" she finished with a grin, hoping to turn her cousin from her dark mood.

"I guess," Glenda shrugged. "You know how long I've been dating Keith?" she changed the subject and Toni perked up her ears. "Four months. I like him." And with that she blinked out of the room and Toni shook her head. What was her crazy cousin trying to tell her?

(To be continued…)


	3. Reflections and Promises

_Chapter 3  
__Reflections and Promises_

Stirring her coffee absently, Toni leaned back into the cushions of her couch thinking about her cousin. Glenda had a sort of innocent freedom in her nature that Toni sometimes envied. Growing up under the tutelage of their grandmother and the newly formed Academy, she had felt almost smothered by Glenda's exuberant expression. She had always been free about her powers. That was not to say that she was reckless. Quite the contrary, but when she felt at ease with a person…a trusted friend, she could express that part of herself.

It was almost as if her cousin were not afraid of anything. Toni had often wished that she could be that way, but instead she feared –and greatly – the discovery of her powers. She feared being locked in her bottle for thousands of years, cast away on a deserted island to be rescued by the first person who came along. She was afraid of becoming someone's genie and having to serve their every desire…even if their desire went against her own beliefs. She was afraid of displeasing her master. She did not think she could ever find a man as good as her grandfather had been.

Glenda did not worry about these things. She seemed to like the thought of becoming someone's genie. She did not deliberately go out in search of a master, but she did daydream about such things. Toni's daydreams were haunted with horrible thoughts of how genies could be treated.

Mostly her thoughts were plagued by the incident surrounding the estrangement of her parents. Neither her father, nor her aunt had shown any signs whatsoever of being genie but they had both produced children who were. While her father had known of the possibility, he had not told his affluent wife of this possibility. When Toni had started showing signs he had quickly squelched her use of the powers.

But it could be hidden only so long, and when Toni was seven years old her mother had left them because she could not deal with the abnormality of having a genie for a daughter. She had never seen her mother again. And the incident had left a scar on her heart. She could never allow someone – outside of her family – to become close to her. She had promised herself when she was old enough to truly understand, that she would never marry a mortal, she would never become "mastered."

At one point in time she had entertained the thought of becoming the wife of Hajji's son, Hirji, the next in line for ruler of the genies. But he had an old fashioned sense of what genies were for. They were to stuff back in their bottles when they were not of use to their masters…and that was the one thing Toni could not bare, being locked with in the confines of her bottle. Once she had been locked inside for several days. She had discovered that she suffered from claustrophobia and after the ordeal was over she had sworn she would never again be locked inside.

Toni shook her head to bring her mind back to the present. She blinked away her coffee and cups, directing them to the dishwasher. She scratched the back of her neck where the grey material of her jacket was rubbing against it. She looked down at the uncomfortable attire and blinked.

Now she was wearing a blue silk top, accented with a matching, little jacket of darker blue silk. Its edges were trimmed in a dark purple braid that glittered in the overhead lighting. Her pantaloons were of the same blue silk material as her top, but they puffed out and fell at her mid calf, like a Capri pant. The same rich purple braid trimmed the hem and little purple and blue glass gems dangled from them. The glass gems also fringed the bottom of her jacket. A pair of blue, silk slippers covered her feet.

Her hair too had changed. Before it was straightened and framed her face as it slightly curled under at the bottom. Now a thick braid was piled on the top of her head in a circular pattern. It was crowned with a blue silk hat that was accented with white embroider and the glass gems. A small pony tail of brown hair flowed from the middle of the hat and swung as she walked.

Sighing with comfort she stepped over to her bed. Since her apartment was a studio style she had fixed a sheer curtain to separate the bed from the rest of the room. That was her bed room.

The décor of her bedroom was different than the calm, plain creams, whites and beiges of the rest of her apartment. It stood out from the rest of the room by a satin comforter of blues, pinks, purples, with sheets of matching satin. Pillows of the same material accented it. The window was framed with curtains that matched. She had accepted the things at the insistence of her grandmother, but her personal taste would not have chosen something quite so bold.

The next morning, as was her habit, Toni rose early and was at work promptly at 8. On her way in she passed Leif's empty office. He was never at work this early unless he absolutely had to…which was never as far as she had seen. But as she passed she noticed his office strewn with papers, files, books. It was a cluttered mess from his frantic search for the Johnson file the day before. A sly, mischievous smile crossed her face as she folded her arms, glancing up and down the hall to make sure no one could see her, she blinked. She took one quick peek into the office. It was neater than the day Leif moved in.

An half an hour later, Leif walked into his office and stood statue still. He swallowed as he turned three hundred and sixty degrees. He blinked in surprise. Never had he seen his office look so neat…_never_. He popped into the main office where he saw Darlene lining up his daily work load. "Darlene, did you straighten up my office yesterday or this morning?"

"No," she pursed her lips together in confusion and shook her head. "Why? Were you looking for something?"

"Nooo," Leif folded his arms across his chest insecurely. He swallowed. "Did you see it yesterday before you left?

"Yes, I did," she nodded. "I had to go put a form on your desk."

"What did it look like?"

She looked at him for a moment. "Honestly," he responded.

"A disaster," she replied.

"Come with me," he motioned for her to follow him back into the room. She stopped at the door, a bushy eyebrow raised.

"You did a good job of cleaning, Mr. Yahn," she nodded her head approvingly.

"I _didn't_ clean it," he responded, his arms still across his chest, but he raised a hand to rest his chin in his palm.

"What? So you have fairies jumping around in the a/c system, cleaning your office for you? Pfft," she chuckled to herself and turned to leave, giving the office one last quizzical glance before returning to her work.

"Something strange is going on around here," he muttered under his breath hand turned to close the door.

A little while later Toni popped her head in his office. "Yeah?" he demanded. She bothered him. Not in a pestering way, but…he couldn't put his finger on it, but something about her bothered him. She was as strange as his room being cleaned this morning. He didn't like having to work with her and while he could tell that she had a generous spirit and there was nothing he could describe about her that he didn't like, he still wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

That noon he met KD at a café down town. "I'm afraid you'll have to find someone else to double with you," Leif told him after they had ordered their meal. "Elaine told me off and all the other girls in my list are either busy, not home or won't answer," he shook his head as he removed his coat and gloves.

"What about that girl that works at your office?" KD flashed a lopsided grin.

"_Toni?_" Leif demanded with mock horror. "I'd have to be desperate."

KD stared at him. "Well aren't you?"

"Not that desperate."

"Well, I wouldn't give up too soon on going out with us," KD shrugged. "My girlfriend has a cousin that doesn't go out much except for work. She thought she might be able to convince her to come along, if you're still up for the concert."

"Of course," Leif paused to take a sip of his Dr. Pepper. "She doesn't go out much? What is she a psycho or something?"

"Nah," KD waved the thought away. "I think she's just…I don't know, likes to stay in I guess."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt," Leif shrugged. "Have you met her?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I guess she's a bit like Glen, you know, happy and cheerful?"

"And she stays in most of the time?" Leif was skeptic.

"Well, how'm I supposed to know? I told you I haven't met her." He shrugged and their waitress placed their meals in front of them. When they were finished with their lunch they headed back for their respective employments.

Glenda, like her grandmother, did have the slyness and cunning of any djinn. And she employed all of her devices to convince her cousin to go out…just this once. "Keith's friend has wanted to go to this concert for weeks. His other date canceled on him, so I promised I'd set you up."

"You did _what_?" Toni's head popped out from the bathroom and stared at Glenda, dressed in an outfit similar to her own, with the exception that it was yellow. "You know I don't go out!" she almost shouted, her voice deep with anger.

"I know, but just this once couldn't you do it? For me?" Glenda consciously peered up with puppy dog, blue eyes at her elder cousin.

"Absolutely not," Toni shook her head emphatically, the lock of brown hair at the top of her head swayed to emphasize her statement.

"If you don't agree to go of your own free will, then I'll have to blink you there," Glenda responded with a hint of mischief in those eyes.

"Not even you would do such a thing!" she demanded in horror. Honestly, Glenda thought to herself, she probably wouldn't. It would be a very cruel thing to do, but she was on a roll, and Toni thought that she would be capable of such a thing.

"Or I could just pop in on a board meeting of your superiors," she had blinked to lift herself suspended in the air, her legs folded in Indian fashion and her arms crossed against her chest.

"Glenda!" Toni's tone was desperate. "Do you realize what would happen to me if you did something like that?" she demanded, her cheeks coloring red with embarrassment and anger.

"Well," Glenda sighed. "If you'll go out just this once, I'll promise not to do anything like that or pester you about going out again."

Toni stared at her. "The promise of genies?"

Glenda cringed. "Yes," she nodded. It was a promise that, if broken, would turn a genie to dust. She held both her pointer fingers in the air and bobbed her head from side to side while chanting. "Bamp-alla-ema-alla." Then repeated the head bobbing. "There," she nodded. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yes," Toni nodded. She picked up her check book and statement to balance it.

"Why don't you just blink that thing correct?" Glenda asked, peering over her shoulder.

Toni sighed, dropping her hands to her side and she glared at her cousin. She loved her dearly, but sometime she could be a pain. "Because it would be suspicious," her tone was annoyed. Glenda took the warning and blinked out.

(To Be Continued…)


	4. Keeping Dates

_Chapter 4_

_Keeping Dates_

Friday night arrived before Toni was ready for it.

KD and Leif were leaning against the bar waiting for their respective dates to arrive. KD was spinning around on the bar stool, while Leif was taking in the scene before them. Several neatly dressed tables were arranged throughout the posh restaurant. Several well dressed men and women sat around them, eating and chatting. "I hope this girl's not crazy or something," he shook his head.

"Well, she could be just like Glenda," KD repeated.

"Well, you forget I've met your girlfriend."

"You have a problem with her?" there was a defensive edge in his tone.

"No, not for you. She's perfect for you, KD, but for me, she's just not my type. She's too happy all the time," Leif shook his head.

"And what would be your type, Leif?" KD's tone nettled slightly. Probably because Leif knew he was right. He had dated a variety of women, none of them for very long. None of them had been the right one.

Leif sighed. "Isn't Glenda from Florida?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Yeah, Cocoa Beach I believe," he shrugged. "Her grandfather was with NASA or something I think." Leif's heart skipped a beat. NASA. That was just…

"NASA?"

"Yeah, you know like space and astronauts, stuff like that," KD chuckled.

"Her grandfather didn't happen to be Tony Nelson did he?"

"Yeah, I think that was his name. Why?" he was puzzled at his friend's reaction.

"Do you realize that your girlfriend just set me up with _Toni Nelson_?" Leif grabbed KD by his lapels and lifted his friend off his seat.

"What?" KD was even more puzzled. "Glenda set you up with Tony Nelson?"

"No, don't you get it?" Leif absently shook KD. "Toni Nelson is Tony Nelson's granddaughter!"

"Wha...Oh, you don't mean that Toni that works…?" it was all beginning to come clear as Glenda with a reluctant Toni in tow appeared in the doorway.

"Hi KD!" Glenda waved before they got across the room. A demure smile had spread across her face and her eyes twinkled. "We made it."

For the first time since they'd entered the room Toni saw Leif and her eyes grew round as saucers. "Oh dear," she muttered to herself.

"I…I didn't know," he cleared his throat. "That you were going to be my date."

"Oh, really?" Toni demanded. Leif blinked. She suddenly had gone into defense mode.

"I'm sorry," he paused. He wasn't sure what he was sorry for. "I didn't mean it how it sounded."

"Really?" an eyebrow rose. The tension between them was obvious. Leif felt uncomfortable as he shifted his weight.

"Shall we go?" Glenda's voice broke through the tension.

"Yes, lets," KD responded nervously.

They were shone to their seats, Leif tentatively taking her arm and leading her behind Glenda and KD. "I'm sorry," he repeated. She did not respond and he thought she was still angry. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she shook her head and managed a smile. "I was just thinking that my blind date could have been worse."

He smiled back at her. He was glad she was not still angry. They were seated and ordered their dinners. They had opted for early since the concert would probably not get out until late. He could not resist staring at her. There was indeed something peculiar about her, but he still could not put his finger on what.

"You know," KD spoke up as he sawed through his steak. "Leif here thinks you're strange. "Ow!" he cried out and bent down to rub both his legs. Leif knew that he'd hit one, but suspected that KD had ended up with a second blow from the general direction of Glenda.

"Really?" slyness and almost…cunning, showed upon Toni's face. "Well, I seem to think him a bit strange myself."

That surprised him. "I mean, a man makes a total disaster out of his office and the next day it's perfectly clean? He must have stayed there all night to clean it. How many men would do such a thing?"

Leif noted something passing between the cousins. It was not words or even actions, they just seemed to pass their eyes toward one another as if sending a silent message. Leif stared at her. She didn't flinch. So she thought he had something to do with his mysterious office? And he thought she had something to do with it, though what, he didn't know.

"I kind of thought it was you," Leif said in an even tone.

"Me? What reason would I have to waste my time cleaning your office?"

"So, if I cleaned it was a waste of _my_ time?" he demanded.

"If that's what you think," she shrugged one shoulder. The rest of the meal was spent in silent tension before they left for the concert. Toni felt uncomfortable in her seat when her boss kept glancing in her direction. It made her nervous, as if she were under strict scrutiny.

She and Glenda parted company with KD and Leif. When they were out of sight they blinked to Toni's apartment. "Don't ever do that to me again," Toni warned, her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry," Glenda said sufficiently humble in her apology. "I didn't realize he was your boss. I've never met him before. Besides," she smiled. "You made me promise, so how could I convince you to go out again like that unless _you _wanted to."

Toni responded with a half smile, but she was still angry. She pulled back the cover of her bed and looked at Glenda. "I'm tired and have to get up early tomorrow. Do you mind?"

"I _am_ sorry," Glenda added. "Good night. I'll see you later."

"Good night Glenda. And I know you didn't mean it," she said as her cousin disappeared. With a long yawn that brought tears to her eyes, Toni blinked into her blue silks and climbed into bed.

She awoke with a start. She sat up in bed and scratched the mass of tangled brown hair. Stifling a yawn she blinked and her hair was smooth and straight. Today was Saturday, but she had to work anyway since they were going to consult on the Johnson case. This would be the first of several similar sessions in which the evidence would be gone over and thoroughly impressed upon their minds in order to best present it in court.

The Johnson case was fairly straight forward. The only tricky thing about it was the fact that there was no tangible evidence that their client _was not_ involved in the crime as he so claimed.

When she arrived at the tall skyscraper building Toni met Leif at the curb. She was surprised since his punctuality was not very…punctual. "Good morning," she said as amicably as she could manage.

"Good morning," he held open the glass front door for her and they walked together to the elevator. He cast a sidelong glance in her direction as he punched the button for up. She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

She had not disregarded his stares the day before and she did not brush them off this morning. He was…suspicious of her. She had tried to be careful in her minor usage of her powers to prevent _any_ suspicion, but it seemed that she had used it one too many times around him.

"I hope Placid won't keep us too long," he said in a conversional tone as the elevator continued to lift and peeped as it passed each floor.

"Hopefully not," she responded. She decided that her best course of action was to distance herself from him. If she were not around him then he could not be suspicious of her for she doubted she could go throughout a day without using her powers for some small task. It was not that she _could _not, but that it would be difficult.

They arrived at the conference room before Placid or Goldwyn, but Martin Charles was sitting, eating an egg McMuffin. "Good morning," he greeted around his mouthful of food as they walked inside and found seats. He swiped his chin with a yellow napkin, still chewing. "Placid had to go pick up the evidence," he explained.

Toni nodded as if she understood, but she did not. "I hope you brought the files, Yahn," Charles turned his attention to Leif.

"Files?" he gasped, his face turning red with embarrassment and frustration. "I left them at home!" he banged his fist against his head.

Toni moaned inwardly. This would make the meeting drag out for _that_ much longer! "Did you check to make sure?" she asked, discretely blinking.

"See?" Leif held up his empty briefcase, but there was a manila folder nestled between the dividers.

"You must be absent minded," Martin Charles chuckled as his chubby fist balled up the wrapper for his breakfast and he tossed it into the wastebasket near the door, missing it and just as Drake Placid opened the door. He stared down at the wad of paper with disinterest before stepping over it. He had his lap top case in one hand and a brief case in the other. He set the lap top on the table and began rummaging through the brief case. Ace Goldwyn had been behind him and now seated himself next to Leif.

"Now," Placid said, sounding more cheerful that Toni remembered his usual temperament to be. "This is the evidence that will clear Mr. Johnson of all the charges against him," he held up a video tape that was labeled exhibit D. "It was overlooked in the initial investigation, so the testimonies of witnesses at the scene had to be the primary evidence." He went to a TV table in the corner of the room and rolled it closer so that all of them could see. He inserted the tape into the VCR and turned it on. It was a low quality, black and white image. It was jumpy as it showed first a man behind the counter and then Johnson walking up to it. He handed the man a pack of gum and then the money to cover it. While the man was counting out his change another man approached the counter and pushed Johnson to the side, but still keeping him close.

The second man in front of the counter waved an object that looked like a gun and was shouting. Both Johnson and the man behind the counter looked nervous as both of them held their hands up in the air. The man behind the counter began taking money out of the register and the gunman swept it off the counter into what appeared to be a bag.

"This is what will clear Johnson," Placid responded when the tape had ended, sounding quite pleased.

"Why didn't this piece of evidence show up in the investigation?" Martin questioned…a question that had been forming in Toni's mind as well.

"I'm not sure," Placid shook his head thoughtfully. "We received it two days ago from an anonymous sender. My guess is that someone _wanted_ Johnson to look guilty. Somehow the clerk was in on it. And the surveillance team at the store. Perhaps it was one of them that sent the tape feeling that it was unjust to send an innocent man to prison for something that he _plainly_ did not commit."

Toni nodded her head in agreement. Vaguely, in the back of her head, she wondered why someone was so interested in passing the blame to Johnson. What were the motives?

"We are going to save this evidence," Placid continued. "As a last minute piece. I, Ace and Martin have already prepared defense for Mr. Johnson based on the evidence we do have. I don't really think it will hold up, but will give it a try. Then when the prosecution thinks we're licked we'll bring in this."

"So we're agreed?" Martin asked.

"I think so," Ace nodded looking towards the younger partners. Yahn nodded. Toni didn't respond. Her opinion wouldn't matter much anyway. If the senior partners and Leif were agreed, then it was so. Placid took out the tape and put it into the safe that was in the conference room so that any of them working on the project could easily access it.

"I'm going to have duplicates made of the main file so that we can all go over the facts of the case. That's what I want you to do this weekend. There will also be a copy of the defense plan. If you come up with anything else we can discuss it later."

(To Be Continued…)


	5. Family Legends and Sabotage

_Chapter 5  
__Family Legends and Sabotage_

The rest of the weekend flew by and Toni and come up with a few ideas to help with the defense. With some of the wording in a couple of areas she wondered if the three men working on it had really wanted to get the charges dropped from Johnson or not. She had come up with some ways to improve the wording and to add to some places. She had felt that there was more of a chance that they could have won the case even without the new evidence had they just worked a little better on the defense plan.

On Monday Leif was informed that they would meet that night at his apartment to go over the new ideas and find a way to incorporate them into the plans. "Ohhhkay," he had told Placid, trying not to sound to upset. He was not prepared to entertain anyone, much less his senior partners and bosses.

He was a bachelor, and as such he did not always keep his apartment at its neatest shape. Nor was he prepared for the kind of food preparation it would entail. His mind raced through several ideas that he immediately tossed out after a few minutes of analyzing each idea. He did, however, keep coming back to one in particular.

Finally he gave in and went to Toni's office. "Are you busy?" he asked.

She studied him a moment as if pondering the question and how to best answer it. "Not at the moment," she said hesitantly. With sudden realization he understood what she thought he was asking her.

He came in, shutting the door behind him and sat down. "I think I remember Glenda mentioning that you employ a housekeeper?" It was a half statement, half question.

"Yes," he could feel the tension begin to uncoil as she relaxed.

"I was wondering if you could convince her to come by my place and clean it for me? Mr. Placid has requested that our meeting take place at my apartment."

"Yes, I know," she nodded. "I'll give her a call if you like."

"Thanks," he felt relief flood over him.

Muriel didn't have anything scheduled for that afternoon and since it was an emergency she agreed to help. Toni got off early so that she could help her. Leif gave her the key to the apartment.

"He is a bachelor, no?" Muriel asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Yes, he is," Toni nodded her head.

"Then he will take much time to clean."

Toni chuckled as she checked the number and unlocked the door. Muriel's intuition was right. His apartment was a disaster of clothes, food from last century and dust bunnies. It took them several hours to toss all of the clothes into his bed room, carry out the garbage and sweep up all the bunnies. But by the time Leif arrived home that afternoon the kitchen, dining and living rooms were spotless, as well as the bathroom that was nestled between the kitchen and bedroom.

"This is _my_ apartment?" Leif laughed when he saw it. "You two must have worked magic."

"Magic?" Muriel chuckled. "What do you think we are? Genies?"

Toni laughed to cover up her nervousness. She always felt as if someone knew when they made some crack about genies and that they were taunting her with it. She pretended as if it was a great joke and Muriel reminded Leif of his promised bonus.

Once Muriel had left Leif turned to Toni. "So," he rubbed his hands together. "What do you know about cooking?" Toni raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

"Why are you suddenly in need of my help and company?" she demanded. She did not entirely trust him. She knew he was suspicious, and in turn she was suspicious of him.

"Well," he shrugged. "I thought, being a woman, you might know something about this. I know just enough to keep my stomach satisfied, but I doubt it would do much good for others." He chuckled.

Toni wavered. Perhaps he was being honest with her. Still, she would be careful. She was glad that her father had insisted she learned how to do things the human way. It made the job of preparing the evening meal so much easier.

By the time Placid, Charles and Goldwyn arrived good smells were wafting through the apartment building. "Let us get straight to business," Placid said as he walked through the door. Toni observed that he always seemed to be absorbed in his work, and almost nothing else. She often wondered how his family must feel being second to his work.

The dinner was not quite ready when they arrived so they spent the next hour going over evidence and reworking the defense draft. When it was done they took a break to eat. The conversation drifted from sports to weather to the best places to spend a vacation. Mostly Leif, Martin and Ace talked while Placid sat sullenly sipping coffee and Toni simply ate. Martin turned to her suddenly during their conversation on vacation spots. "So where do you like to vacation?"

She was a little startled by the question since she had not spoken or been spoken to during the whole meal. "I suppose Florida or Washington." She shrugged. Her vacations were usually spent with either her father or her grandparents. She almost added Bagdad, but caught herself just in time.

"Ah, you have family in Florida. Washington as well?"

"Yes."

"What about you Drake?" Martin posed the question to the man who seemed to be quiet, thoughtful and distant.

The man jumped slightly, but set his coffee cup down and thought for a moment. "The Middle East," he responded. Martin looked at him quizzically, but asked nothing more, turning back to the rest of the group.

After a while the jovial man became restless, so while he finished his cup of coffee he began looking at the knick-knacks on Leif's mantle. There were several pieces from other countries and Martin commented on them. Leif responded that his parents traveled quite a bit.

There was one piece that caught Toni's attention about the same time it caught Martin's. It was a bottle of a frosted yellow, amber coloring. It was hand painted with white designs and had dots of many different colors at the pointed ends of the white designs. "Now what is this?" Martin asked.

Leif laughed aloud. "Well, there's a legend that goes with this thing," he took it from Martin and took off the lid with a pop! "It's an heirloom bottle that is supposedly handed down from generation to generation by my great-great-great-great-great grandfather who found it in the desert. He had been banned from a town and was traveling without food, or water provisions or even his horse. Well he had given up and knew he was a bout to die when he collapsed he hit his head on this bottle." He thunked his head lightly to demonstrate. "When he woke up he was drowning in an oasis. He looked around to see who had brought him there and found a genie standing there. A beautiful genie. After he collapsed and lapsed into unconsciousness he had said 'I wish I had water.'"

Toni could feel the hair on her body stand on end. "Now wasn't he a lucky fellow!" Charles laughed and slapped his knee. He and Goldwyn thought it was a fantastic story. Toni's mind raced with questions. She wondered if this genie were somehow related to her.

"Of course, it's just a story," Leif laughed. "But most people enjoy it. Personally I think this ancestor of mine had a bit too much to drink of something besides water."

"How do you know it's just a story?" Toni without emotion. She kept her face straight and unmoved. She didn't know why she spoke – she knew she shouldn't have, but she hated it when people discredited legends, especially when they were about her people.

"What?" Leif's laughter subsided.

"How do you know he didn't find a genie in that desert?"

"I believe there are just as many genies out there as there are Santa Clauses," Leif replied. "_Do_ you believe there are genies out there?"

She hesitated. She had walked right into this. She wished she'd thought a little more before she spoke. Usually she did. "All I'm saying is that who's to say there isn't any out there?" She shrugged.

"All right," Placid's firm voice cut in. "Let's get back to the matter at hand." Toni slowly let out a breath of relief. This was becoming far to complicated.

Later that night, when everyone had left, Leif picked up the bottle and studied it. He had looked at it many times throughout his life time. Many years as a boy, when his grandfather had told him of the story he had picked it up and pretended that it was a genie bottle. He had had an imaginary genie. But it was a child's game based on the family legend. He didn't believe it was true. Not then, not now. It was a fantasy.

Gently he rubbed the frosted surface as he had done when he was a boy and as Martin Charles had done throughout the evening for laughs. "Aw," he threw it on the couch with disgust. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded of the empty room.

He picked it up and replaced it on the mantle piece. He thought of Toni's comment. It bothered him, but what did it matter if some people wanted to believe such things? _He_ did not.

The next morning found Drake Placid in a bad mood. He was fuming as Toni slipped into the conference room and took a seat next to Leif. "What's wrong?" she whispered. Leif shrugged. He had not heard what had made the boss so upset.

"Our defense plan can just be tossed right out the door!' Placid shouted, making both Leif and Toni jump.

"Why don't you tell us what's wrong?" Goldwyn asked, concern showing on his face.

"Look at this," he pointed to a pile of broken plastic. "Our one piece of good evidence is destroyed. Someone opened the safe and demolished it." Charles got up to examine the pieces closer.

"It looks like it was deliberately done." He commented.

"Nonetheless it's destroyed!" Placid yelled. "And with the lazy job you folks are doing our client can just expect a sentencing in the prosecutor's favor!"

Toni paced her breath. Usually their boss was a docile man, fair and kind, but she understood his despair over this. She felt it too. "Didn't we have a backup copy?" she asked, an idea forming in her head.

Placid looked at her blankly. "No, this was the only one we had."

"I thought I saw one in there the other day when I put up the papers for the Henderson case," she insisted.

He walked over to the safe and opened it. "There's nothing else in here," he threw his hands out as he opened it, the same time Toni blinked. He rummaged through the papers and securities left there. His hand came out with a tape. He looked at it. "Were there two tapes in here?" he asked.

"Maybe that was one of Ryan's tapes," Martin waved to the pile of debris. Placid took the tape and placed it in the VCR. After a few seconds of snow the picture cleared and was a high quality color surveillance video.

"Who has access to the safe?" Toni asked suddenly when it was confirmed that the tape was of the incident.

"Everyone," Placid shrugged.

"Perhaps you should stick it in your personal safe, sir? Just for safekeeping," he nodded.

"I think I will. I don't want to loose this," they all agreed.

"Why would someone want to sabotage a tape of evidence?" Leif asked no one in particular.

"Are you saying that someone did?" Charles questioned with an edge of defensiveness.

"No," he shook his head. "Just merely thinking out loud. Whether or not that was our tape or Ryan's someone obviously did something to it for some reason."

Toni noticed Goldwyn run his hand through his hair nervously. She pondered, but set aside her thoughts as the meeting came to a close. She realized suddenly that Leif was studying her.

(To Be continued…)


	6. Suspicious Minds

_Chapter 6  
__Suspicious Minds_

Leif was indeed. He had been silent during the exchange about the tape. He wondered that one of the others had not noticed the error. The video was a high quality color. The original was a low quality black and white. Even if it had been in color it still would have been low quality. Something was indeed strange where Toni Nelson was concerned.

That gave him an idea. When lunch rolled around he went by Toni's office. "Had lunch?" he asked with a pleasant expression.

"No," she seemed cautious.

"I was going just down the street. Care to join me?" she bit the end of her pen in thought before answering.

"I suppose," she nodded slipping into her coat.

When they had settled in and ordered their meals he turned his attention on her fully. He wanted to know what the oddity about her was. He had to know to satisfy his curiosity. "How did you know there was another tape in that safe? Placid didn't and I'm sure he searched it."

"I didn't," she replied, lifting her shoulder in a half shrug.

"What made you think I had the Johnson file the other day, when I knew I didn't?"

"Am I on trial Counselor?" she half teased, but he could see a cloud gathering on her brow.

"No," he shook his head as the waitress handed him a red basket filled with French fires and a hamburger. He unfolded his napkin and waited while Toni lifted the top of her bun and took off the pickles. "There's just something odd about you, Toni, and I'd like to know what it is."

"Odd?" she laughed. "What could be odd about me?"

"Strange things happen around you. Change pours out of vending machines, my papers appear where they shouldn't, a woman with no assets has the money to employ a lawyer for her son and…" he hesitated. "A _low-quality black-and-white tape turns into a high-quality color tape._"

"It was?" surprise flickered across her face. This was exactly the kind of reaction he wanted to get from her. He was sure now that she had something to do with the tape! She caught herself and continued, "It was. Maybe someone made a duplicate."

"Who? You? And if you did, how did you change the quality and the color?"

"It wasn't me!" she seemed flustered. She tossed her napkin down. "You don't seem to have much liking for me, Mr. Yahn, you seem to want to trap me into something, though I don't know what. And I'm just not hungry now." She rose, handed him the amount to pay for her meal and left.

When he arrived back at the office she was gone. She had signed out for the day. He sighed. His confrontation had not gone well. He wanted to know about her oddities, but strangely she had begun to grow on him as a friend he realized with suddenness. He was, in a way, drawn to her oddities, both in finding out about them and understanding her.

At home Toni threw off her shoes and purse. She felt a snowstorm of emotions and confusion swirling around her. Leif's questions had upset her and she felt terribly uncomfortable. How had she allowed herself to be so careless? It was not like her at all.

"I think I'll go lay down for a while," she told the empty room. "I'm just tired, that's all." She looked at her bed. It was comfortable, but, while she would hardly admit it, she had begun to feel a need and sense of security when close to her bottle. She still did not feel comfortable inside it, but on a couple of occasions she had spent the night inside of it, keeping the clear, glass stopper hidden in a jewelry box.

She blinked into her usually attire and looked at the frosted blue bottle. It was not the same blue, but it complemented the silk she wore. There were fluted edges along the wider bottom and little colored gemstones were set in the middle of each of them. There were carvings of vines and little flowers that were painted in pinks and purples like the colored pieces on her jacket.

With an impulsive decision she blinked and she turned into blue smoke that reappeared inside the bottle. The inside of the bottle was more ornate than the outside with a sparkling gold paint undercoat with navy blue lines at each crevasse where the flutes were. On either side of the blue line was an intricate pattern of pink gems with white painting around them. A navy blue cushioned couch formed a circle around the edge of the bottle. A small table where a lamp was located was in the middle and several old books and scrolls were kept in a neat little wooden box. Those were books and scrolls about genie laws.

With a yawn, Toni glanced up at the hole. She could easily see the ceiling of her apartment. She crawled onto the couch and was instantly asleep. In her state of confusion and fatigue she had forgotten that today was Muriel's day to clean.

An hour later the housekeeper arrived, unaware that Toni was home. She hummed as she went about her usual cleaning tasks. When she was dusting in the curtained off bedroom she noticed a glass knobbed object lying in an open jewelry box. "So that's where it is," she picked up the object and turned it over in her hand. She wondered what it was doing there instead of stopping up that blue bottle.

She took up the bottle and placed the stopper on it solidly. Satisfied that she had accomplished something, she continued to sweep the floors and clean them. Toni had felt the movement of her bottle in her slumber, but when she had peered up she had still seen daylight so she had fallen back into a deep sleep

The next morning Leif had arrived at work at his usual time and headed to Toni's office. He had not felt very good about himself that night. He had begun to feel that it was really none of his business what made Toni odd. None of the oddities had harmed anyone, so why should he be so cruel to her when it obviously upset her?

When he walked in it was empty. He returned to the main open area and found Darlene. "Have you seen Toni this morning?" he asked.

Darlene thought for a moment. "You know? I haven't. That's strange for her. Do you think she's sick?"

"I don't think she was feeling too well yesterday afternoon," he responded absently. For the rest of the morning, in between his work, he made a thorough investigation and found that she was not there, nor had she called in. It was very odd indeed.

He managed to get a hold of her personnel files and found her phone number. He called and got her answering machine.

In her bottle, Toni could hear the phone ringing. It sounded muffled and further away than usual. She yawned, still half asleep and blinked herself out. She was expecting herself to inmaterialize into blue smoke but…nothing happened. She stared down at her normal, solid self. She tried again, but to no avail. At first it did not occur to her what this meant. She thought something must have been wrong.

Then she remembered, and with remembrance her heart skipped a beat and her legs felt weak under the dead weight of her body. Her breathing quickened, her face began to flush, her heart raced, her thoughts jumbled together as she frantically tried to blink again and again. She stood in the middle of her bottle staring up at the hole where light still filtered through the glass stopper, her mouth hanging open in disbelief at what was happening to her.

It was impossible that this could happen. She had always been so _careful_. "Oh dear!" she cried out as she fell, wearily into her couch. The small space of her bottle began to grow smaller as panic filled her being. She got up and began pacing around the circle of her bottle bottom. She analyzed her options, but there were no options. She was totally and completely trapped inside her bottle, the object of her heritage.

"You have to stay calm," she tried to tell herself every time panic struck. She took deep breaths and tried to clear her mind. "Perhaps Glenda will pop by this afternoon," she thought aloud. But then again, what would make her think to check the bottle? She might assume that she were still at work, or had gone out for something.

Well, at least she could find solace in the fact that Glenda would _not_ assume that she had gone out on a date. To the store perhaps, but that still did not help her chances of escaping the confines of her shrinking bottle.

Work. She had not thought about it until that moment. Surely someone there had noticed that she was not there at her usual time and she had not called in. They would know something was wrong and would contact her Aunt Carrie. That was her emergency contact. Perhaps it was someone from there who had just called.

Slowly, the hours droned by. Toni felt as if she would go crazy if she had to stay within the confines of the bottle much longer. Though she could not "smoke out" of her bottle she could turn herself into smoke and she had, investigating every crevasse small enough to fit through…but she was sealed within.

Every so often the phone rang again. She could hear it faintly. Finally, whoever was calling let the answering machine pick up. She strained trying to hear the voice.

"Toni? – pause – Toni? This is Leif. Where are you? I can't get you at home, or your cell number. I've tried to get a hold of Glenda, but I can't find KD and I've tried your emergency contact, but Carrie Gilford must not be at home. If you're there will you please pick up? – pause – Then when you get this message would you please call me at the office?"

She heard the beep of the machine as he hung up. She sighed as she sank into a plush, silky pillow. Her mind had gone over and over ways in which to release herself from her bottle, but there was no way in which to do it. She sincerely hoped that Leif kept trying to get in touch with her Aunt Carrie. If Aunt Carrie found out that she had not been to work all day and had not called anyone, she would know what was wrong. For that matter if her Uncle Buck or Gerald or Glenda found out.

She closed her eyes and her mind began to flash pictures in her imagination. She could just see Leif getting worried and calling the police. She could see them storming her apartment looking for her. She could see them finding the bottle and opening it and she having to become their servant.

Worse still, she saw Leif opening the bottle!

Her heart began to pound. She had to do something. She stood and began pacing the circle again. Waves of panic washed over her and she fought them off, but quickly they returned. Ideas popped into her head and were quickly discarded. Nothing she thought of was feasibly possible for her escape. Only someone from the outside opening her bottle could free her from her prison.

She only hoped that it would be a member of her family.

Finally, exhausted she sank into her couch and buried her face in her hands. She had to resign herself to whatever would happen. There was nothing more she could do to stop it. If only she had not been so foolish to pop into her bottle in the first place, or if she had hidden the glass cork better. So much could have been different!

(To Be Continued…)


	7. Unbottled

_Chapter 7_

_Unbottled _

At work, Leif felt uneasy. It was not like Toni to be gone from work as she was. He had been, he reflected, a little hard on her the day before. Had it really mattered so much what was odd about her? Perhaps it was merely her personality. He had no right to push her as far as he had.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number again. Still there was no answer. He was at his wits end as to what to do. By the time it was five 'o' clock he had made up his mind to drop by her apartment. It took a quick look at her personnel file to find the address.

Once he had arrived at the apartment building he almost changed his mind. Was this really any of his business? Perhaps he would be intruding on some personal matter that she was trying to resolve and did not need him to pester her.

_Though_ it was his fault that she had not gone back to work the day before. In a business sense, this was his business. She had not called in. He could not get in touch with her family. He had legitimate reasons for checking in on her. If something were wrong he needed to know about it. That's all it was. Business.

He found her number and rang her bell, but no one answered. He tried several more times with no success. He should call the police or her family again, but instead he found himself hunting up the manager and getting the spare key. He made up a story about being a distant relative and wanting to surprise her. He was a little surprised that he was able to get the key with such a shallow story, but by the time he was back at her door he had tossed the peculiarity out of his mind.

Instead now, he was again having second thoughts. He was intruding in the private space of an employee, or rather a co-worker. He was going into her apartment uninvited and without her knowledge. But what if something were wrong? What if she needed immediate attention?

When he stepped inside he was surprised at the light, airy feel the room had. It was small, enough to fit her means of income. The room was clean, spotless. He suspected that Muriel had something to do with that. It felt awkward being in her room. He half expected her to show up and thoroughly scold him for being in her apartment.

He had looked over the kitchen and living room areas and took a quick peek into the bathroom. A taupe colored, sheer curtain separated the rest of the room from what he assumed was the bedroom area. He pulled back the curtain and stared at the elaborately decorated bedding. The bright and shiny colors of blues and pinks and purples seemed out of place in the studio decorated with milder colors. He cleared his throat and sighed. She was no where in the room.

Now he needed to contact someone. He picked up a phone on the top of a dresser. He was about to dial Carrie Gilford's number again when he noticed an object on the top of it. It was a bottle.

It would not have caught his attention, except that it was almost identical to the one he owned, except that it was a blue frosted color. He set down the receiver and picked it up. He marveled at the design so intricately done. He looked at it, turned it over in his hands. He ran his fingers over the pattern. Ever so slowly he touched the glass stopper. His had nothing like that. As long as he could remember it had been simply uncorked.

Curious, he placed his finger and thumb on the top of the stopper and pulled. At first nothing happened. He had not expected anything to happen. A hissing sound startled him. He jumped back, as a flume of blue smoke spew from the hole, at first just a thin stream, but it grew larger. He threw the bottle across the room and took another step backwards tripping over into a chair.

The smoke grew thicker, a deep, dark blue color. At the bottom of the cloud of smoke feet appeared dressed in blue silk slippers, then legs covered with blue silk pants. Then the rest of the body and head appeared. Antonia Jeannie Nelson was leaning heavily against the bureau where the bottle had rested, her arm against her bare stomach, her breath coming out in short little gasps. She looked pale.

So did Leif. His eyes were round with wonder. He realized that he was holding his breath and let it out. "Toni?" his voice was weak. She looked at him, slowly regaining her composure, but closed her eyes as if willing away the scene before her. Leif wondered if it would work for him. He still wasn't sure what had happened.

"Of all the people in the world!" she threw her hands up in despair and paced the length of the room. She stopped and stood next to the bathroom doorway and began pounding her head against the wall.

"Don't do that!" Leif jumped up and put his hand between her head and the wall, only to have it crushed between the two hard objects. "Ouch," he complained and shook his hand.

"Don't you understand?" she demanded, her voice full of despair.

"Yeah…no," he shook his head. His thoughts were full of confusion. "I don't think I understand anything. What kind of trick was that?"

"That wasn't a trick!" she exclaimed, her face flushed with frustration and anger.

"It had to be a trick," he responded. She stared at him. "Either it was a trick or I've gone crazy."

"You haven't gone crazy!" she was nearly shouting. "Sit down," she blinked and a chair slid across the room and hit him, gently, in the back of the legs, forcing him to sitting position.

"What are you wearing?" he demanded, realizing that her attire…well, she was dressed as a harem girl.

With a deep sigh that seemed to take in every part of her body she responded, "My heritage."

"Your what?"

"My heritage, Leif. I am a genie."

"You're a what?"

"A genie. You know like Aladdin and the Arabian Knights?"

"Those are only fairy tales!"

She blinked and Leif found himself rising out of his chair. "You want to call _that_ a fairy tale?" She blinked again and he dropped back into the chair. He swallowed. It had been a very strange feeling to have his body, against his will rise into the air like that.

"That is why," she continued. "That your office was spotless and that Mrs. Capp had extra money saved up, and why the tape is in color instead of being black and white. _And_," she added with a change in her tone. "Why you are now my master."

"I'm your _what_?"

"You released me from my bottle. That now makes you my master."

"I don't' want to be anybody's master!" he protested, standing up from his chair.

"And I don't want to be anybody's servant," she retorted, folding her arms.

"Then we're all set," Leif sniffed.

"Not quite," she responded, lifting herself into the air and folding her legs Indian fashion. "There is something called laws of the Djinn."

"Laws of the what?"

"Djinn. It's the collective name for all genies."

"There are more than one of you?" she stared at him incredulously.

"Yes. Glenda is a genie, so is Gerald. And my grandmother, and grand aunt and her twin daughters. And Hajji and many, many more." She paused. "Needless to say, with all of the djinn in the world we must abide by certain laws for our people. We obey the civil laws of the country we reside in, but we must first and foremost abide by the Laws of the Djinn. Ever since I was able to read I've been studying them."

"Is that why you became a paralegal?"

"I suppose."

He looked at her for a moment. "I'm confused. I get three wishes and then that's it, right? Then you can go on your way and I can go mine? Right?"

"That is a common misconception and a stereotype brought about by fantasized stories written by humans," she clarified. "You opened my bottle and freed me from my prison. Now you are my master, anything you command I must do."

He stared at her in unbelief. "What if I command you to do something illegal?"

"Then I must obey. Our laws do not necessarily conform to the laws of a land."

"Or something you do not wish to do?"

"I still must do it," he looked at her with a puzzled expression. "If you can grant any wish, then you I can wish to set you free?"

She let out a deep, heavy sigh. "That is one thing that cannot be done. When you released me from my bottle we became linked. Since you are the first to do so, besides my grandmother, the link is stronger. I'm not sure how me being partially human will affect that link, but it can only be broken by death or banishment."

"Banishment?"

"If I displeased you, you could…" she hesitated, took a deep breath and continued. "Banish me to my bottle for an amount of time no less than 5 years. Then whoever opened it next would become my master…or," she hesitated. "You could close me up in my bottle for a full moon, but I'd still have another master. And it's not an option I'd like to try."

"Couldn't I at least try to free you?" he insisted. While the idea of having any wish he desired come true was appealing, he did not want the responsibility of _owning_ someone.

"Perhaps we should see my grandparents. They have some experience in this matter." He looked at her.

"We're going to fly to Florida tonight?"

"Something like that."

(To Be Continued…)


	8. Family Reunions

_Chapter 8_

_Family Reunions_

Without hesitation, Toni lifted her arms and blinked. Her clothes had changed from the harem outfit to a pair of boot cut jeans and a decorative blouse. Something she'd wear while lounging around her father's house or her aunt and uncle's. Leif's balance shifted as he took a step back. "Get ready." She warned just before she blinked a second time.

"Ready for what?" Leif responded, before he realized that the scene had changed. He swallowed as he fumbled backwards. A horn blared and Toni grabbed his hand.

"For teleportation," she answered.

"W-w-where are we?" he swallowed again. He could feel a tinge of a headache as he searched the area. It was obviously no where in New York City, and by the appearance of palm trees and other tropical flora he guessed they were in a warmer climate. Of course the sudden sense of sweat trickling down his back, between his shirt and skin awakened that sense even more.

"Cocoa Beach," Toni answered promptly glancing up and down the street as if searching for something.

"Florida?"

"No, Africa," her tone was sarcastic. Leif just felt confused. "Come on," she grabbed his arm and almost dragged him behind her as she headed for a small, old Florida style house. It had obviously been updated several times and been added onto, but Leif's secret admiration for architecture could easily determine the house's origins.

Without hesitation Toni strolled up the walk to the front door and rang the bell, still dragging Leif behind, who was trying to overcome the effects of his first trip via Toni's blink. He was not sure what he was expecting when the door opened, but he was sure that it was not the woman before him. She looked the right age to be Toni's grandmother, and there was a mild resemblance between the two women, but Glenda looked a lot more like her than Toni.

"Toni!" she exclaimed embracing her with the enthusiasm reserved to all grandmothers. Her bleach blonde hair was swept back from her face and twisted in an interesting knot at the top of her head. "Come in, come in," she gushed holding the door open further for both of them to enter. "Oh, Anthony look who's here!" she called out.

Toni seemed happy, Leif noticed, to be visiting them, though he could tell that she was being slightly reserved, something that her grandmother seemed to pick up on as the gentleman stood, folding up his paper. "Toni it's good to see you," he hugged her, giving Leif a sideways glance that he did not fail to notice. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming to visit?" he half admonished, but affection was in his voice.

"Well," Toni grinned, and looked down, studying her finger nails. Leif shifted uncomfortably as, whom he presumed was Colonel Anthony Nelson, studied him with great scrutiny. "I kind of have a problem." The elder couple exchanged glances, then Mrs. Jeannie Nelson, looked at him as well. He shifted again as realization shone in her eyes.

Their attention now rested firmly on their granddaughter and Leif couldn't have been happier. "I made the mistake," she began, taking a seat on the sofa across from her grandparents, Leif, tentatively, and with stiffness that he knew made him appear wooden, sat down beside her. But he did make sure that there was a proper amount of space between them. "Of…well, taking a nap in my bottle."

Toni sighed. She was embarrassed by her confession since she had said she would never, _ever_, get caught in her bottle, no matter what. "And the lid was placed on it. The next day, my co-worker, Leif Yahn," she indicated him with a brief nod. "Came by my apartment to check on me and opened my bottle."

Jeannie Nelson looked at both of them for a long moment. Nobody spoke, but her eyes shone sympathy towards her granddaughter. "I-I-I don't really want to be anybody's master," Leif felt as if he should say _something_. This seemed like the most opportune time. "Especially not Toni's," he knew that the latter admission, though in a low voice that only she could hear, was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his lips.

"Of course, you know how my feelings have been on the subject. I tried to explain, in general, some of the laws, but I didn't know how to explain what happens to genies," she looked imploringly to her grandmother.

Jeannie clicked her tongue, but smiled at both of them. "I wouldn't worry," she assured her before turning her attention to Leif. "Right now this is a very new thing for both of you, but as time passes you will both accept it as a reality."

"So this is something we get whether or not we want it?" Leif was critical.

"Yes," Jeannie nodded. "Now that Toni has a master, she may find that she could not live without one," her blue eyes twinkled at her granddaughter. "And after time you will not be so against it…unless I miss my guess."

"So what's my job in all this? What am I supposed to do?" he felt so lost. Usually he knew exactly how to tackle any situation, but this was way out of his league.

Tony smiled at him sympathetically. "It is sometimes hard to get used to it, but a genie around the house does grow on you." His words were not all that reassuring, but Leif tried to smile back.

Jeannie nodded as if affirming the words. "Now, have you two eaten?" They told her that they had not and immediately deliciously smelling food appeared on the table. Leif swallowed hard. What did "blinked" food taste like?

He discovered that it actually tasted quite good. He couldn't help but ask for seconds. "How…um…how is this food cooked? I mean, how does…?" he trailed off not knowing how to ask the question.

Tony seemed to be waiting for Jeannie to explain as well. "It is rather had to explain how it happens. It's just a matter of practice, and with it comes better and better tasting food." She smiled.

He wanted to ask how much Toni had practiced in this particular subject, but thought better of it. He wouldn't have had time anyway since someone walked through the back door shouting. "Hello! You'll never guess what…" whatever the man, wearing a plaid jacket, was going to say he stopped when he saw visitors. "Toni! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed and Toni jumped up to give him a hug.

"Uncle Roger, it's so good to see you." He grinned at being called uncle.

"Who's your friend?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"One of my co-workers."

"Well, you are working with the finest and prettiest paralegal in the business," he nodded his head.

"Thank you," Leif nodded, but by then "Uncle Roger" had turned his attention back to Toni.

"So what brings you down here? And why didn't I know you were coming to visit?" he looked accusingly at Tony and Jeannie.

"Bottle trouble," she responded.

His eyes grew round and he took a discrete glance at Leif. "Does your friend…?"

"He does now," she responded.

"Oh dear," he shook his head. "He isn't…?" Toni nodded. "And here I was hoping you'd let me take your bottle," he pinched her cheek playfully and with a fatherly affection.

"How's Mrs. Healy?" Toni asked as she passed a bowl to Leif.

"She's doing well, but she's had to slow down quite a bit lately. She still makes those silk flowers to sell," he scooted his chair under the table.

The rest of the meal was mostly centered on Roger's conversation as he told them about a fish that he had almost caught. When they had finished Toni blinked them home, or rather, Toni's apartment. They stood there for a few minutes in awkward silence. He didn't fail to notice that she had changed into her blue outfit.

"So," Leif finally broke the silence. "I think I just want to go home and sleep tonight," he sighed.

"Do you want me to blink you?"

"I suppose," he shrugged. There was no time like the present to begin to get used to that form of travel.

When he had gone, Toni wrapped her arms around her middle. A feeling if insecurity swept over her. Her usual sense of purpose and control of her life were gone. She was a dog on a leash. She hated the feeling. She simply hated it.

That night she tried to sleep, but every time she would doze, her mind would awaken her with a thought. It haunted her, plagued her. She could not understand the thought, but it continued. She felt as if she needed to be somewhere, but she didn't know or understand where. A knot had formed in her stomach and it only continued to grow and grow.

During the night it began to rain. She had gone to look out the window, watching the city below her. Car horns honked, lights were on almost everywhere. It looked pretty all gleaming with wetness.

In the morning it was still raining, but it had turned into a drizzle. Just after six someone rang her door bell. She listlessly got up from her spot on the couch and opened the door with a blink. She could sense that it was Leif. He glanced at her strangely; she was still dressed in her blue outfit.

"I was hoping it was a dream," he responded when she questioned him with a look.

"Hmm," she shrugged. "So did I. Are you hungry?"

"I'm going to get something from Dunkin' Doughnuts or Starbucks on the way to work," but before he had finished speaking a paper carton of a variety of doughnuts and a pot of fresh coffee appeared on the coffee table. He sucked in his breath.

"Then I guess I'll pick it up here," he muttered under his breath as he picked up a chocolate covered doughnut and took a bite. They were the best he'd ever tasted.

She walked back to the coffee table and sat down on the floor Indian fashion across from where he was seated on the couch. "I didn't sleep last night," he said in a confiding tone. "I kept telling myself it was a dream, but when I wasn't I kept thinking." He took another bite and wiped chocolate off his chin. "I've seen what you've done around the office the past several weeks. It makes more sense now that I know what you were doing, but you were doing good for other people," he paused, taking a sip of the coffee that was just right and just as he liked it. He couldn't help but make an appreciative sound. "I guess you could say that my first official order to you is…I guess my first wish is that I want you to keep doing that good work for people." She was studying her own coffee. "Now you'll have an ally."

She glanced up at him sharply. "Something's going on at the firm." The admission and abrupt switch of subjects startled him, but he looked at her curiously.

"What's going on?"

"Would you back me up if I investigated someone within the firm? One of the senior partners?"

"I guess so," he realized that this was somehow a direct link from his first 'command' of her. Still he was hesitant. "You think someone in the firm is doing something they should not?"

"I think Goldwyn sabotaged the tape. I know he sabotaged the new one. The colored one," she added. "He doesn't want the Johnson case to go through."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not positive, but I think I could blink myself to his office for a time," she trailed off.

He looked at her. Suddenly he realized why she had stopped. "Do it," he ordered. He had a lot to learn as a master. Why didn't they have a Law of the Masters? He wondered.

(To Be Continued…)


	9. Ace Goldwyn

_Chapter 9  
Ace Goldwyn_

The chair creaked as Leif leaned back. A lot of things were weighing on his mind, but he was trying to concentrate on only one thing. The Johnson case. He could think about his situation with Toni when the trial was over…but no matter how hard he tried his mind kept returning to her. He had now seen her in a way that was completely foreign to the way she presented herself at work.

With a sigh, he shook his head to focus on the papers before him. He absently wondered if Toni was having any success with finding anything more about Ace Goldwyn. He hoped that whatever she was doing she wouldn't get herself in trouble.

Several offices down, Toni was hugging the plastic between two vents in the back of Ace Goldwyn's monitor. It was a precarious position, but she had not found a more suitable area where she could easily overhear any of his conversations and not be seen at her current height of approximately five and a half inches.

He was on the phone, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, yes. I know. I know I promised and I'll come through," he paused and wiped a hand across his forehead. "You don't have to remind me. I realize that…that's why…yes, of course," he suppressed a sigh as the other speaker continued. Toni balled her fist in frustration, hammering against the air. This was getting her nowhere.

A clump of dust nestled amongst the wires fell with a tiny 'plop!' causing a cloud of tiny particles to cascade out. She immediately felt her nose itch. She wrinkled it to keep the urge to sneeze out. With one arm wrapped around the plastic she took her other hand and held onto her nose. But the sneeze still welled up inside of her, burning at her nostrils. Her grip on the plastic began to slip, frantically she tried to grasp it tighter, but instead she slid off of her perch and was headed for the desk.

She blinked. Right into Leif's office. She landed on the floor at her normal height with her legs sprawled out with her right hand in between them and her left behind her back to catch her fall. Simultaneously she sneezed.

"Ahh!" Leif jumped, startled by her sudden entrance. He stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. In her transfer to his office she'd ended up changing her clothes to the blue outfit. "Don't do that!" he demanded.

"Yes Master," she spoke the title without thinking. She pushed herself off the floor and dusted herself off. "We should put in a suggestion that our computers get cleaned up a little more often. They're layered thick with dust inside!"

"I'll make a note…" he turned to a pad and began to write something down. "How do you know it's dusty?" he stopped with his pen still poised.

"I was trying to get something from Goldwyn," she rolled her eyes and plopped into the chair facing him. "But all I got was a one sided conversation that didn't reveal too much."

"How did you do that?"

"By holding on to the back of a monitor case," she replied nonchalantly, as if it were an everyday occurrence. Leif assumed that perhaps for a genie it was. Her nose wrinkled again and she sneezed, but at the same time the door of his office opened. Toni blinked herself to Leif's desk in miniature form.

"Bless you," Darlene said rummaging through several files in her hand.

"Huh?" Leif was confused, but realized and faked a smile. "Thank you."

"Here is that report you wanted about Goldwyn's cases last year," she handed the file to him while noticing a plant he kept in the corner of his office. "I think it needs watering," she nodded to it and stuck her finger into the soil.

"I'll get it later," he replied absently as she walked back to the door and he began rummaging through the files. Toni blinked back to her normal size, blinking towards the plant, but Leif did not notice.

"Maybe we should talk over lunch," Leif suggested.

"Fine," Toni nodded, folding her arms out in front of her.

"About thirty minutes?" she nodded in agreement and blinked out at the same time Darlene walked back through the door with a paper cup of water.

"Who were you talking to?" she glanced around the office.

"Was I talking out loud?" he pretended to be absorbed in the files.

"Sounded like you said something about thirty minutes," she sighed and shook her head, taking a look at the moistened soil of the plant.

"I was just reminding myself that I have an appointment in thirty minutes," Leif shrugged, making an excuse.

"How did your plant get watered?" Darlene demanded one hand on her hip.

"Hmm?" he glanced up with a puzzled expression.

"It was bone dry when I was in here a minute ago," she stared at it as if it were possessed.

"I haven't touched it," Leif tried to manage a poker face. Toni must have watered it before she left, but that would be a _great_ explanation! He thought grimly. With a shrug Darlene disappeared.

Thirty minutes later, Toni opened the door to his office and announced that she was ready for their lunch. He didn't hesitate to shoot out of his chair. He was ready for a break and to get away from his office for a while.

"Let me grab my coat," he picked it up, but before he could swing it around Toni blinked and he was wearing it. He stopped. "Well," he felt frustrated. "Thanks I guess." She looked a little frustrated herself. He realized that perhaps she had not intentionally dressed him, but it had come as a natural reaction that she could not control.

"Where should we go from here now with the Goldwyn thing?" Leif said as they entered the main corridor of the office building.

"Did you find those files?" she asked, Leif waved them in answer. "Then we can look over them while we eat."

They chose a cafeteria style lunch room where a long line was waiting to be served. "I think we should have waited," Leif shook his head. "I wish the lines weren't always so long." Suddenly, the line was shorter. Only a few people were in front of them. The man behind the counter, serving customers blinked and seemed to breathe heavily as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"What did you do?" Leif demanded in a frantic whisper.

"You wished for the line to be shorter," she responded in a whisper, but her tone was not frantic, but rather it betrayed her disgruntled feelings.

Before Leif could fully recover he heard a syrupy sweet, feminine voice call his name. "Why Leify darling!" she called as she approached. His eyes grew round. He hadn't seen Gloria Knight in over a year.

"Hi. Gloria," he responded, but he was not happy to see her. She walked right up to him and threw both arms around him.

"Aren't you happy to see me, Leify?" her dark lashes batted. Toni's eyebrow had risen in question and her arms were folded tightly across her chest.

"Well, Gloria, it's just that, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Toni had not moved throughout the entire exchange. She did not like the woman. Although "Gloria" was no where near her she felt as if she were invading her space. Jealousy raged through her body. Her eyes were stormy seas flashing lightening. She resisted the urge to grab Gloria by her long, golden blonde hair and jerk her away from her Master…

She swallowed hard. That was the second time she'd thought of Leif as her Master without even thinking about it. He _was_ her Master, but she didn't have to accept it without a fight. Angry with herself and the spectacle of a woman before her she whirled around and stomped off to the line and got her meal. She stomped off to a table letting Leif entertain his lady friend.

When he approached with Gloria on his arm she said in that same syrupy voice, "I sure hope you don't mind me inviting myself to your lunch party," she said. "Leif thought you might."

"Why would I mind?" the smile on her face was tight. Her mind screamed, no! But she made sure that Leif would have to sit next to Gloria.

"We were going to discuss some business," Leif said suddenly. He didn't have any desire to renew his acquaintance with Gloria, and he had the feeling that disaster would strike if she stayed around with Toni nearby.

"It can wait," Toni responded sweetly. "You just go right ahead and join us."

Gloria smirked as if she had won a battle, but Leif sensed that it was Toni who had really won a battle, he just hoped that whatever happened, or could happen it did not turn ugly. Gloria perched herself on the bench in the booth and flashed a challenging smile in Toni's direction. Toni's expression did not change; she merely began eating her meal.

Gloria spooned mashed potatoes in her mouth and exclaimed, "These are simply delicious," her eyes turned towards Leif. He noticed, briefly, a wicked smirk cross Toni's features and knew they were in for something. Gloria had another spoonful of mashed potatoes about to touch her lips. Leif saw Toni's discrete blink.

When she took her next bite the woman's eyes nearly popped out of her head as her cheeks began to grow red. Frantically she grabbed her glass of water and downed the whole glassful in one gulp. She gasped for breath, fanning her face.

"What's the matter?" Leif asked, concerned, but he had a good idea of what had happened.

"Potatoes…too…much…pepper," she gasped and wheezed, coughing. She sat up straighter and tried to wipe away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks, taking some of her mascara with them.

"Are you all right now?" Toni asked sweetly. Leif gave her a half amused, knowing look. He didn't want to encourage this behavior in her, but he really didn't want Gloria to stick around. They had work to do and go over.

Somehow the lunch hour slipped by and Leif and Toni returned to their office, after parting company with Gloria. He knew he should say something, but thought it would be best _not _to mention the incident at the cafeteria. "So, we really haven't gotten any further with the Johnson case or Goldwyn. Did you come up with anything at lunch?"

"I have an idea," Toni said, there was a reserve in her tone, but she seemed amicable enough. "My other idea didn't work, but perhaps this one will be more practical."

"What is it?"

"We'll come back tonight."

"How can we do that?" he demanded. "The security men will be here and there is no way to access the building unless you already have a security code for night work."

Toni rolled her eyes. "We won't be _walking_ through the front door silly."

"How else can we…?" but before he had finished his question she had blinked out of his office into her own. "Oh."

"Oh?" Darlene's head popped into his office.

He spun around in surprise. "Oh, I, uh, just…found something. I'd been looking for…" he stumbled for an explanation.

"Oh," Darlene responded, but without enthusiasm. "Here are those letters you needed typed up," she handed him the stack and he began signing them.

In Toni's office she was lining up the pieces of the Johnson file defense for refresh her mind for when they went to court in a few more days. She wanted to be sure that everything they would need was there and nothing had gone amiss with what was originally in the file.

She found several pieces that were missing. She knew they were there before and blinked in her copy of the original so that she could compare. She would have to pass on this piece of information to Leif so that they could determine what it was about the information that was so important and if it would be incriminating to Goldwyn.

Toni assumed that Goldwyn would have had to take out the pieces of evidence before Placid had them copied and handed out. She would have to check and make sure that Leif's were missing the same pieces of evidence. It would also explain why Goldwyn had had the file the day Leif was looking for it.

While she was engrossed in cross referencing the papers Goldwyn walked in with a file in hand. "What are you doing?" he demanded. She jumped; she had been so involved she had not heard him enter.

"Just going over the Johnson case," she watched him carefully for any kind of reaction.

"You shouldn't waste so much time on that," he waved his hand, his tone belittling. "It's an open and shut case."

"I'm not so sure," she shrugged. He stared at her a moment, but caught himself.

"Of course, trust me. I've been doing this _much_ longer than you have," he stomped out of her office and Toni bit her lip, reflecting.

(To Be Continued…)


	10. Investigations

_Chapter 10  
Investigations_

Around 5 p.m. Leif headed for Toni's office, but she had already left. "She left a little early today," Darlene informed him when he passed her on his way to the front of the office. She hesitated. "Leif?" she called after him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right?"

He stopped and turned towards her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You just seem tense and jumpy the past day or so. Is there anything wrong I can help with?"

"No," he shook his head. "Just working on these cases sometimes get's stressful. Once we finish some of this work load and I can relax I'll be okay."

"I hope so," she waved to him as he slipped into his coat.

He slid into a cab on the street and told him the address before he realized that Toni was already in the cab. "He already knows the address," she informed him.

"So is this what you're going to do all the time?" he was mildly irritated.

"It's what I'm _supposed_ to do," she responded her tone irritated too.

"It can get annoying."

"You're telling me?" she snapped. "Do you think I like this impulsion I have to make sure that you're taken care of?"

He sighed and leaned back in the seat. He folded his arms and stared out at the busy street. Mentally he thought how nice it would be to get home quickly instead of having to move through all the traffic. Almost as soon as the thought formed in his mind they were there.

The cab driver sat up quickly and began scratching the top of his head where only a thin bit of hair covered his bald head. "Um…" he hesitated. "We're here," he told them.

Leif shot forward in surprise and looked around. Sure enough they were there. He glanced at Toni. Quickly he counted out his change and handed it to the man and grabbed Toni's hand, nearly dragging her out of the seat.

"What did you do that for?"

Toni sighed and shrugged. "You've got to be more careful of what you think."

"You can hear my thoughts?"

"No, but if you think a wish, usually if I'm close by, I'll feel compelled to grant.

"Oh great," he muttered. "Aren't you going home?"

She stared at him. He stared at her.

"My bottle belongs on your mantel now."

"_What?_"

"I am your slave now, oh Master," there was mock formality in her tone.

"Ooooooh this is just great!" he stomped off into the apartment building, Toni tagging along. He stopped suddenly and turned towards her, she almost colliding with him. "What about your apartment?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep it."

"_I_ don't mind." He grumbled as he walked towards the elevator. Once they had arrived at his apartment it was suddenly clean, spotless, she was in her blue outfit. Supper was on the table, it was set for two and on the mantelpiece sat Toni's blue frosted bottle sat next to his ancestor's. It had happened so quickly that Leif almost missed the changes.

"So was my ancestor's genie any relation to you?" he sat down on the table. This was better than trying to eat his own cooking.

"I'm not sure, but I kind of think she might have been. I'd have to ask Grandma though."

"And you think the 'legend' was true?"

"Of course," she raised an eye brow as she used her fork to put a bit of food in her mouth. "Don't you?"

"Now? Yes."

"Let's go to Goldwyn's around 7. Does that suit you?" she changed the subject.

"Whenever you think," he inclined his head. He had a lot to get used to with this genie and master relationship. She continued to talk, but his mind was on other things. He was watching her for a long moment. Had it only been one day ago that he had thought her a normal everyday woman with a few mere oddities? Now he knew her "oddities" and he kept having to tell himself that it wasn't a dream. It was really real.

When they had finished eating Toni blinked away the dishes, washed, dried and put away. By then it was almost 7 so she blinked them to the office. Leif looked around him wonderingly, but the trip wasn't as frightening as it had been the first time.

"Now what?" he asked as he looked around the room.

"We start searching."

"For what?"

"If I knew we wouldn't have to be searching for it, now would we?" her tone sarcastic.

"Are genies always this edgy to their masters?" Leif copied her tone.

"I'm not edgy!" she snapped.

"Glad you told me," he smirked and started moving a few files around on the desk, glancing through them.

Meanwhile on the first floor of the building, in a room filled with surveillance equipment the security officers were dividing their last doughnut and sweetening their coffee with little pink packets.

"That's strange," one of them leaned forward to look closer at the computer screen fixed into a counter. One of the rooms on the screen was blinking a little red dot. The screen was monochrome, black with white lines that outlined the rooms.

"What's wrong, Frank?" the other asked.

"Well, we have an intrusion, but it's only just started," Frank replied. "On the 18th floor."

"That _is_ strange," the second man agreed. He picked up the phone. "Hey Barney?" he spoke into the receiver. "Check out room 6 on floor 18; there seems to be an intruder."

Barney was making his rounds on floor 15, but when he got the call he hurried to the elevator.

"Here's something," Toni picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Leif. "It's about that case with Goldwyn's son."

"Yeah, that's what I was looking for," Leif took it from her. "I remember it clearly. His son was going to be charged with murder, and supposedly there was evidence that he had not committed it. I don't believe the case ever made it to court. They dismissed it during the preliminary stages."

"I remember reading about that in the paper before I came to work here," she stopped to look at him. "Do you remember any of the details about it?"

Leif shook his head. "What's in the file?" Toni blinked a copy of it. "Well look closer at it when we get back to your apartment."

She was about to say something else when she said, "Oh dear."

"What's wrong."

"Someone's coming," she whispered.

"Then get us out of here!" he replied in a shout-whisper.

Without hesitation Toni folded her arms across her chest and blinked at the same moment Barney's hand was on the door knob. Cautiously he poked his head through the open doorway. "Hello?" he called. "Anybody here?" he pushed the door open further. "Hmm, that's strange," he muttered to himself and walked back into the hall.

Blinking Leif tried to adjust to the bright lights of his apartment from the darkness of the office. "This is going to take some getting used to," he commented. He looked down at the things they'd brought with them. "Uh…Toni," he glanced around at the furniture that looked a lot like Ace Goldwyn's office.

"Oops," she blinked the furniture back to the office, causing poor Barney, who'd just poked his head through the door way again, to shake his head and wonder if he were not going crazy.

"I must be going daft," he said to himself as he quickly closed the door and hurried to give a report back to the guards downstairs that everything was fine…whether or not it really was.

"How'd that happen?" Leif asked.

"A mistake on my part," Toni shrugged. "I was in too big of a hurry."

"Genies make mistakes?" he was mockingly sarcastic.

"Yes," she snapped back at him. "Now can we get back to the matter at hand?

"No problem," he shot back.

By now she was furious. "If you don't…!" she began and blinked him into a miniature version of himself.

"Hey!" he shouted indignantly, his voice also miniaturized. "Make me big again, Toni!"

"What? Why should I? You were being insulting."

"So were you!" he spat back.

She blinked and he found himself back to normal…he hoped. "_I_ was being insulting?" she demanded.

"Let's just get our work done," he responded, trying to change the subject. He didn't want to end up miniature _again_. "Anyway, here's the gist of his son's case; it says that he was found to be the last person to see Jacob Wade alive. Wade was a friend of Sean Goldwyn, but they had been arguing about something, but that was never uncovered. It seems that Sean was the only one who really had any motive for killing Wade, but when it came up for indictment enough evidence was shown that this was just an accidental gang killing and thrown out by Judge Benedict."

"At least we know that Judge Benedict isn't a judge that can be bought off," Leif interjected, referring to the elderly judge who stood strong on his values and his judgments. If he threw it out, then the evidence was real. It possibly wasn't all of the evidence, but it was real.

Toni agreed as she looked at the rest of the file. "So Goldwyn handled the case himself," she commented. "Here are his defense plans," she handed Leif the paper with scribbled notes on it.

"It says here that Dominique Brozenski was the leading witness who testified that he was with Sean the night of the murder; they went out and played a game of tennis. It was a doubles game," Leif scratched his head. "Here's a note at the bottom of the page," he pointed to the tiny words. "I can't read what it says.

She blinked them larger. "It says 'talk to Moretti,'" she read the words aloud. "Who's Moretti?"

"I have no idea. We need to look at Goldwyn's contacts," Leif turned to her.

She pursed her lips. "We can't keep popping in and out of Goldwyn's office," she said practically. "The guards are going to get really suspicious."

"Could you blink his rolodex here?" he gestured with his hand. "We don't have much time to figure all this out."

She obeyed, but they were unable to find anything in his rolodex that was close to Moretti. "Maybe he keeps a list of contacts on his computer?" she suggested. "That'll be easy to access."

She blinked on Leif's plasma TV and then connected it to Goldwyn's hard drive. "Now how does that work?"

"Under the same principle of wireless connection," she responded. "Just done a bit differently. Modern technology makes my job easier."

A thorough search of the computer files brought them to an Excel sheet titled "Contacts." In the sheet were a half a dozen Morettis, but one of them was starred. "I don't want to ethnically stereotype all Italians, but do you have the funny feeling we may be talking about organized crime?" Leif asked. Toni only looked at him, but he knew the same thought was running through her head.

"What should we do now?" she asked.

"I think we should sleep on it. Perhaps we can come up with a perfect solution by in the morning."

She agreed and she headed for her bottle while Leif got ready for bed. The night was long as Leif tossed and turned, trying to organize facts in his head. In just a few short days too many things had happened; had changed. To find out in only the course of a couple of days that genies existed and a senior partner was transpiring with the mob were almost too much for him to comprehend.

(To Be Continued…)


	11. Cases in Point

_Chapter 11  
Cases in Point_

He woke the next morning to a dream of bacon and coffee and a medley of other delicious foods, before he realized that it was not a dream. He couldn't wait to taste it. Toni was already up, in her blue harem costume, setting a tray on the counter when he walked in, buttoning up his shirt. "Wow," he said happily. "I don't remember when I've had a regular breakfast with all the trimmings."

Toni didn't answer. She'd had a sleepless night as well. No matter how hard she'd tried not to think of it the realization of how much her life had changed in such a short period of time was upon her. And some of those changes she had not even been aware of as they'd happened. Her independence had vanished and she'd given it up without a fight. She was beginning to obey Leif's orders without hesitation and was referring to him as her "Master." He was her Master, and that was a fact.

"Did you come up with any ideas?" she asked. There was no use brooding over things that could not be helped.

"Yeah, one. That trick you used on the TV last night, would it work if you did a live feed?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she was pouring coffee into cups and then blinked. They rose into the air and flew to the table. Leif watched the action with interest.

"Um…I mean could you stream a video of the actual events as they are taking place, even though it was in the past?"

"You mean like a surveillance video, only the real thing on the television?"

He paused, thinking, "I think so," he nodded his head.

"That's what I did with the second copy."

"Really?" this interested him.

"That's why it was in color. I copied the actual event."

"At this point in time whether or not it's in color is irrelevant, so long as the events are true," he returned.

"Yes, I can do that. But how will that help us with the Goldwyn situation."

"I'm going to rent some bugging equipment and you're," he pointed at Toni. "Going to blink the equipment into the appropriate place," she felt a binding compellation to do exactly as he bid her. It seemed her will power had lost its desire to resist. Besides, what he said made sense. It could work. "When we get back from the trial, we'll all go in together, then when Goldwyn makes the phone call, we'll tape it and show it to Placid."

"That's a good idea," she nodded.

"Thanks."

That morning, at work Toni blinked and a can of diet Pepsi appeared on her desk. This was not an ordinary can of diet Pepsi. This was her special can. She was tired of fighting with the vending machine in the lounge that constantly ate change and never gave it back…unless of course she blinked the change back. But this was easier. She would always have it at hand and it would always be the proper temperature and proper carbonation and it she would never have to leave her desk to get another. It seemed like the perfect solution to her dilemma.

She glanced back at the scattered files before her. It was a cluttered, disorganized mess. She blinked again and all the files were in neat little piles. Finally. They had one more day to go over the evidence and then it would be the day. She was looking forward to this particular trial.

Ordinarily they would have had a conference to go over all the facts, but Drake Placid had been called away on business. He would not return until late that night, so Goldwyn was going to head the conference. She was looking forward to what he might have to say about the situation of the case. Did he still think it was open and shut?

The clock read 10:30, time for the meeting. Gathering up her materials she headed for the conference room, meeting Leif on the way. She gave him a casual glance and a slight nod. When they arrived there was a collective scraping of chairs as each of the members of the Johnson trial moved them out to sit down. Goldwyn opened his file and quickly went over important facts. Martin Charles was sitting beside Toni. "Shouldn't we go over the tape again?" Toni asked an innocent smile playing across her lips.

Slowly, Goldwyn's eyes rose from the file before him and rested on her. The faintest hint of red touched his cheek and his Adam's apple bobbed as he took a hard swallow to mask his obvious unease. "No," he shook his head. "Drake checked it two days ago. I'm sure nothing on it has changed since then."

"Oh," Toni nodded, curling her lips pretending she understood his reasoning, but she let her gaze drift towards Leif. He raised an eyebrow knowingly.

When the meeting was completed Leif followed Toni into her office. "I'm going to be meeting with Mrs. Capp and James in a few, would you like to join me?"

A smile brightened her face. "Sure. I'd love to."

"So you want to tell me something, though?" She answered by merely shrugging a shoulder. "How did Mrs. Capp get her money?"

A mysterious smile spread across her face as she answered, "Trade seceret."

Leif rolled his eyes and headed for his office, leaving her to continue comparing files. All of the cases Ace Goldwyn had requested to be a part of during the last year and a half she compared with cases he had worked on previously. What she found was disconcerting. All of the cases he had requested had been predicted to have a particular outcome, whether it was win or loose, but had ended with the opposite outcome for _various_ reasons in each instance.

Among them was one that particularly piqued Toni's interest. It was a case that involved a well known and respected state senator who had passed several pieces of important legislature that cracked down on organized crime syndicates. The case brought against him was his relationship with one of his under aged pages. All evidence originally brought forward, including the girl in question, would have cleared the senator of any wrong doing, but the evidence was lost or unavailable at the time of the trial. Even more suspicious, the girl was involved in a serious car accident that had snapped her spinal cord and seriously injured her brain. The senator was convicted based on the evidence given by the prosecuting attorney, a Mr. Gale Bland.

The whole incident unnerved her. She could feel a chill run down her spine. She wondered why no one had questioned the situation surrounding the trial, the accident and the loss of the evidence that had originally been available. Nothing was entered in by the defense to prove that the man was innocent. Yet the files had said something had existed.

She shivered as she grabbed the file and headed out the corridor. She stopped by Darlene's desk on her way to Leif's office. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

Darlene smiled up at her pleasantly. "Depends on the favor."

"Do you think you could do a little research on this case? I'd like to find out a bit more about the accident the girl was involved in. Who were the other victims in the accident and was anyone else hurt? Also I was wondering if anyone knew who turned in the senator, where the prosecutor got his evidence against him and finally a little more about Gale Bland."

Darlene raised an eyebrow. "Goodness. Just a little research? On a case that was closed months ago?" she laughed good naturedly.

"I'm just curious if the defense used every avenue possible to have the man acquitted," Toni shrugged. "I'm just curious is all."

"I'll take a look at it. There should be something, papers, maybe some reports about it somewhere."

"Thanks," Toni waved as she headed for Leif's office. Mrs. Capp and her son were already there waiting for them.

"There you are dear!" she bubbled. "I'm so glad that you and Mr. Yahn took my son's case. I don't know where we'd be otherwise."

"I'm glad we could be of service to you, Mrs. Capp," she took the woman's hand warmly. "Why don't we get down to business?"

They went over evidence and Leif explained to James just exactly what to expect when they got in court. He nodded, interestedly. He seemed much calmer than he had been before. There were a few pieces of the evidence that would go well in his favor. That would help him immensely.

Once they had established background for the case, Mrs. Capp and James left. Toni turned her attention to Leif with a thought that had been bothering her all day. She'd barely had time to even think of it with all the things that had happened to her in the past few days. Adjustment was a long road.

"Have you seen KD lately?"

Leif was confused. "I guess it was a couple days ago," he shrugged. "Why?"

"I haven't seen Glenda since…"

"When I became your Master?" Leif responded, enjoying the moment to torment her. He realized it wasn't very kind of him. She stared daggers at him. He could almost feel them being thrown at him. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean anything by it." He realized he needed to apologize…and fast. He wasn't sure what exactly a genie would do to him for tormenting her that way.

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. Did he have to be so….! She couldn't think of a word that would best describe him. She was just an ordinary human. No, that wasn't right. She wasn't ordinary and she wasn't human. Not completely at least. If she were completely human she wouldn't have to put up with this…well, okay, maybe to an extent she would, but she wouldn't _have_ to be around Leif almost _all_ the time! She could choose not to be anywhere near him when they were not at work.

Since he'd opened her bottle she'd become so confused and irritated _all_ the time it seemed. Irritated at Leif, with her self, her parents, her grandparents. She realized that the part of her that was genie was at war with the part of her that wanted to remain free. She wished that her grandfather had never found that bottle on that deserted island!

No, that wasn't entirely true. She wouldn't trade her grandmother for anyone in the world. But that didn't change who _she_ was.

"It's all right," she knew that her tone betrayed her true feelings about the matter, so she tried to calm herself down. A myriad of emotions welled through her as she continued. "Glenda pops in on me all the time."

"She wouldn't have known where you were," Leif pointed out.

"She seems to always know where I'm at," she snapped. She knew she wasn't being fair. He wasn't being cantankerous right now.

"I don't know," Leif shrugged. "I know I haven't seen KD, so I'm not sure where your cousin might be. Maybe she's just busy?"

He turned away from her to his monitor and checked his email, ignoring her. She suddenly felt a feeling of desertion. She didn't know what was wrong with her as she wrinkled her nose in frustration with herself. Why did she feel deserted? She wanted to be alone, but now she was attached.

(To Be Continued…)


	12. The Trial

_Chapter 12  
The Trial_

Every light in Toni's apartment was out as she sat on the couch unwrapping and popping – whole – a Reese's cup into her mouth. She let it rest on her tongue as the chocolate began to melt. She flipped it towards her teeth and began chewing the melted mass into bits and swallowing them. She had eaten three before she took a sip of her drink that was suspended in air next to her.

She should have been at Leif's by now, but she needed some time alone. She felt depressed. "Genies aren't supposed to be depressed, are they?" she asked the empty room. Of course, that wasn't true. Genies often got depressed and their body parts began disappearing. But she wasn't _that_ depressed. She just needed some time to sort out her feelings.

Her mind began to focus on the case tomorrow. They already had the presentation down, and she and Leif had gone over what would happen afterwards. They had everything they needed to catch Goldwyn in the act. Mentally she mapped out what would take place and what she needed to accomplish before hand. She would get herself up to Goldwyn's office early and later she and Leif would arrive at the court house together.

She sat up straighter. Did she have to continually keep thinking of _him_? Of course he was her Master and she had to think of him often, but this was ridiculous. She didn't have to think of him _all_ the time. Although, she knew that was an exaggeration, it didn't seem too far away from the truth.

Across town, Leif was busy looking over the devices he'd rented for the occasion. He hoped that Toni could blink these small enough, but that they would still pick up sound properly. He picked up a small chip and turned it over in his hand.

He absently wondered where she was. After work she'd disappeared, he assumed to her apartment, but it did give him a few moments alone to reflect over the case tomorrow and the situation with Goldwyn.

Picking up his tape recorder he checked it to be sure it would work properly tomorrow after the trial. Before he'd finished he became aware of a presence in the room. Alarmed he turned to find Toni watching him from the doorway of his bedroom. "All working good?" she asked, almost pleasantly.

"Seems to be," he hit play to see if it had recorded. "Yep," he smiled.

"Are you ready to eat?"

"I could eat," he nodded. Before he'd finished, he could smell a spicy, delicious scent floating on the air.

"How exactly do you do that?"

"The same way I do all of it. I think about it."

"I see," he shook his head, clearly not able to.

The next morning sunshine bathed New York City as commuters bustled about their business. Toni stepped onto the street from her apartment building, her hand bag strap resting on her shoulder; she hailed a taxi and arrived at the office at her usual time. Unusually though, Leif was waiting for her. He opened the door for her as she asked. "Did you bring the stuff?" He held up a gym bag to indicate that he had as they entered the elevator.

Once on their floor and Toni was in her office she blinked herself small and into Goldwyn's office. She found appropriate place to place the devices and blinked them to those positions. With another, final blink she was back in her office at her normal height. "All done," she told Leif who was waiting there for her.

"Good," he moved files around on her desk. They were files pertaining to the case. After comparing the original copy she had made with those that were handed out to all of the members of the team, Toni had added the missing material to each of the copies. She wondered what Goldwyn thought of that when he opened his file that morning. "Are you ready to live feed that thing?"

"Of course," she replied, gathering up her supplies and stuffing them into her briefcase. After a few minutes they had everything they would need and headed to the street where they hailed a cab.

At the court house, they found Goldwyn, Placid and Charles waiting for them. Goldwyn was pacing back and forth on the pavement with his hands in his pockets. He seemed nervous. Leif and Toni exchanged glances. Beads of sweat lined the man's forehead as Placid rubbed his hands together. "You're late. We don't have all day for this," his voice was sharp, but Toni had learned that it was merely the man's manner. Even after all his years as a lawyer, going to trial made him snappish. She presumed that it meant he was simply nervous.

Once more they went over quick details and met their client. He was already seated at a table bent over a bowl of cereal, shoveling it in his mouth making crunching noises as he ate. "Well, boy, how's it going?" Martin Charles gave Johnson a friendly punch in the shoulder. Johnson looked up and nodded, giving the older man a thumb's up. "Good, good," Charles nodded. Toni always had the distinct feeling that Johnson never really heard or understood what they were saying.

The time had come. They all filed into the court room and rose as the bailiff announced the judge. When he was seated they resumed their seats. The prosecution began their arguments. Placid offered his counter.

For the next two hours, time seemed to drag by slowly. The prosecution and defense offered evidence to support their claims. Toni was pleased that her suggestions and Leif's had been used in the final draft of the defense plan. By the time court was dismissed for lunch, Placid was pleased with the flimsy evidence the prosecution had presented.

Toni noticed that Goldwyn had begun to sweat profusely. He was beginning to be worried, but she also noticed that he made a quick phone call before they returned to the court house after they'd eaten, and that seemed to put him in better spirits.

Court was back in session by one. It was slow getting started again. The prosecution had a few witnesses they called that were in their favor, but Placid easily discredit them with his questioning. It became apparent by this time that they were going to win the case. Placid had already said he was going to use the tape, regardless. It would seal their defense.

By this time, Goldwyn was squirming in his seat. Toni almost pitied his discomfort. When the TV and VCR were rolled into the court room, set up by technicians, he seemed to relax somewhat. He was hoping that this discrepancy in the defense would discredit their entire presentation. Toni knew that was what he was hoping.

Placid pushed in the tape while Toni, staring down at her hands in her lap, blinked. Snowy black and white and grey specks flittered across the screen. A satisfied smile flashed across Goldwyn's face. Then the screen was blue, she could feel relief flood through Goldwyn. But the scene popped up. It was a high quality surveillance video, but it was black and white. The detail of it was as if they were standing inside the camera itself watching the incident take place. She smiled to herself, pleased with the outcome. It reminded her of her grandmother's Past and Future machine.

Toni didn't miss Goldwyn's jaw dropping. She nudged Leif with her elbow and he nodded. He hadn't missed it either. Placid turned to the judge, satisfaction on his face. "This is surveillance videos from the store the night of the robbery," he began. "The original investigation did not bring this to light, but it was brought forward sometime later, Your Honor. That is all sir."

The judged retired to his chambers, but not for long. "With the evidence presented by the prosecuting attorneys and the defense and after careful consideration I have come to the decision that the defendant is not guilty," the judge pounded his gavel.

A general clamoring of congratulations and hand shaking passed between the defense team and Johnson and his family. Toni did not fail to miss the lack of enthusiasm from Ace Goldwyn. It wasn't a huge case, so to the casual observer it would not have seemed out of place, but to her and Leif, they knew _why_ he was not as pleased with the outcome as the rest of them.

Johnson eagerly thanked each of them for their excellent service as they began gathering up their things and headed out the door. Goldwyn left with Placid and Charles while Toni and Leif left together. "So are you ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she responded. She was ready for the ordeal to be over with.

(To Be Continued…)


	13. Uncovered

_Chapter 13  
Uncovered_

At the office, Goldwyn had disappeared while Charles was regaling Jonathon Thomas and Bill Ryan about the trial. Placid was giving his secretary some orders of some things he needed her to attend to before disappearing into his office as well. Toni and Leif headed for his. Before they reached the room Toni blinked on the recorder.

The first sound they heard was a deep, heavy sigh. Then the sound of numbers on a phone being punched. There was a long pause while the dialer was obviously waiting for someone to pick up at the other end. "Yeah, Moretti?" Goldwyn asked. "It's me. We have a problem…"

After a long day in court, Drake Placid enjoyed the quiet solitude of his office. It was his time to peruse the work he would be doing in the next few weeks, the major projects and the minor disputes. It was also a time for him to reflect on what had worked during the presentation and what had not. It always gave him a sense of accomplishment when one of his cases had turned out favorably. It reminded him of _why_ he had become a lawyer in the first place.

During this time he did not like to be disturbed. His secretary knew this, most of the partners knew this and his family knew that after a case, he was _not_ to be disturbed. So when his secretary buzzed him a few minutes after he had settled into his office chair, he was outraged by the interruption. "What is it?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry sir," her tone was apologetic and almost frightened. "But Leif Yahn and Toni Nelson wish to speak with you, sir."

"Tell them I'll talk later. I'm busy right now," his tone was biting.

"They insist that it's very important they speak to you right now," she added. He could tell the nervousness in her voice and realized that they must have insisted and that there must be some important reason for them to need to see him so urgently.

With irritation and annoyance he told her to send them in. Leif opened the door, but let Toni go in before him. Placid made a note of how well the two of them seemed to be working together lately. He also noticed their expressions. It seemed like a mixture of reluctance and a kind of satisfaction. "Well?" he demanded pointedly. His hands were folded in front of him on his desk as he looked from one to the other. "What is all this about?"

"We have something I believe you should hear," Leif began as Toni quickly set up the tape player and the recording. When Leif nodded to her she pressed play.

"We have a problem," Goldwyn's voice came over the player.

Moretti: Problem? I thought you took care of it.

Goldwyn: I did. I don't know how this could possibly have happened. I destroyed the tape, but somehow it wasn't destroyed. Johnson wasn't convicted.

Moretti: What?

The pitch of Moretti's last word had risen. Toni and Leif exchanged glances before turning their attention back to Placid who was staring at the tape player as if he'd never seen it before. A cloud of surprise and hurt passed over his face.

Moretti: What do you mean Johnson wasn't convicted? You said you had it under control.

Goldwyn: I did. I did. I-I-I'll find a way to take care of it.

Moretti: No! You were supposed to take care of it before, but you've blundered the whole thing! What are we going to do when they come after Bellamy? Huh? Do you realize what you have done?

Goldwyn: Yes sir.

Moretti: You're like that girl in the senator's case. She wasn't gonna give into the pressure, and it seems like you ain't either.

Goldwyn said nothing, Placid looked up at the couple. "That's enough," he said wearily. "I've heard enough." He shook his head sadly. "I should have known something. But I'd never have believed it to be Ace."

After a few moments to recover from the realization, Placid went with them to Goldwyn's office to confront him. The man was obviously nervous. He stood up quickly when he saw them, upsetting his pencil holder and spilling pens and pencils onto the floor.

"I'm sorry. Let me…" he was flustered.

"Never mind that," Placid said evenly. "Why don't we get together and celebrate our victory like we did in the old days," his eye was on Goldwyn.

"I'm not in a celebrating mood," Goldwyn sounded tired. "I think I'll pass."

"I can see why you wouldn't be," Placid's tone had changed. Goldwyn stared at his friend questioningly. Placid nodded for Toni to set up the player. When the first words played over it Goldwyn turned pale as death. He grasped the edge of his desk for support.

When it was finished he looked at each of them, his lips twitching with words he wanted to say. "I'll turn myself in," the words were soft, almost inaudible. "I don't want Moretti after me. He's angry enough. I'd rather deal with the police."

"I thought that might be the case," Placid nodded solemnly. "I had my secretary call them. Someone will be here in a few moments."

Goldwyn looked away from Placid's piercing gaze. "I did it because of Sean," he swallowed as he turned back to look at his partner and the younger couple. "I was afraid he'd be sent to jail, so I took the first offer I could find," he shrugged as if trying to justify his actions, even to himself.

The older man turned away, leaving the room in haste. Both Toni and Leif exchanged glances, but stayed, keeping an eye on Goldwyn. The police showed up with in a minute. As they hand cuffed him and started to lead him out of the room he turned to them. "How did you manage to keep an extra copy of the tape?"

Toni glanced at Leif. "I didn't," she responded. "That was the one Placid placed in his office."

"But I used a magnet to destroy it."

"Um, uh…" Leif tried to find an explanation quickly, but Toni just shrugged, a sly smile on her face."

"The new copy had a magnetic protection seal. It prevents a tape from being ruined by a magnet."

"I didn't know such a thing existed," Goldwyn sighed as he was tugged along behind the officers.

"So where did magnetic protection come from?" Leif questioned when the man had left and they were in the corridor.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to my mind. I've learned to think on my feet. I'm not always successful, but I do try."

Placid walked over towards them. "Good work kids," he said sadly. "You know," he said with a far away look in his eye. "We started the firm here. I always thought I could count on him in a pinch. I would never have suspected him of this." He shook his head turning away.

Toni turned towards Leif. "Well, I still have some work left to do before the days out."

"Me too," he agreed.

Darlene Everly had watched the exchange from her desk. She was aware that the two of them seemed to be spending a lot of time together the past several days. Perhaps it was because they were working on two different cases together, but it seemed that their relationship had changed somehow. To the unobservant eye, perhaps it was not so strange, but to her it seemed peculiar.

She glanced at the can of diet Pepsi on her desk. It was not her can of Pepsi, nor had she found it in the lounge. Instead, she had found it in Toni Nelson's office, on her desk. Assuming that it had been left there overnight, she thought she'd help the young woman out by throwing it away. There was some of the drink left in the can, but when she attempted to pour it out…

Nothing had changed. She was sure a gallon had flowed out of the can, but still it was full. What was more, when she touched the liquid it was as cool as if it had just come out of the machine…maybe even cooler.

She vowed that she would keep a wary eye on Miss Antonia Nelson. Too many peculiar incidents had taken place around her and she was not about to let them be written off as mere coincidence. A can of Pepsi that would not empty was _not_ coincidence.

The rest of the day Toni spent in her office, going over files and finishing a report for the Johnson case. Each of them was to write up a report on how the case had gone. It would be minus one report though.

She was busy and engrossed in her work when she realized a relative was in the room. "Glenda!" she hissed. "You know better than popping in here!"

"I know!" Glenda exclaimed excitedly. "But I just had to tell you the news! It's the most wonderful news! And I bet you can't guess!"

"You finally got a Master," Toni half joked.

"No," Glenda was practically bouncing off the walls. "It's even better than that…"

**The End**

Of _I Dream of Toni _

The story continues with: _What You Don't Know_

_Author's Notes:_ Many thanks to those who read and influenced this story in its original writing and with this revision: Barry I Grauman, Gucho, Eric/Kentauros and The Rare Delurker. A special thanks to The Rare Delurker for mentioning this story in his own stories found on the Jeannie Sisters website. – Scarlett Elizabeth Cooper


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